His Grief
by LeafyxThiefy
Summary: A surgeon finds himself treating a suffering patient. His dying words leaving a mark in the mind of the young surgeon, but what will they achieve? And what is the story behind his now patient in care? Rating lowered to T for now, will change as the story continues. AU LawLu, Law x Luffy
1. Chapter 1: A New Patient

**A/N: Hey Guys before we begin, just want to say, I own nothing in the fic that is to follow, hell not even the plot might be my own, never seen one like it but maybe you have?**

**Anyway, this will be my first One Piece fan fiction, I'm testing the waters so to say. Hope you enjoy! - Leafy**

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><p>The sound of wailing sirens, shouted instructions, and desperate cries of those arriving with patients were a familiar background noise in the Emergency room of Heart Community Hospital. However, this did not mean that the residents of the department had gotten used to the gruesome sightings that came with it.<p>

"Law!"

Steel gray eyes looked up from the rim of a cup of coffee, the name bringing him to attention and finding the source of the call.

"Law! Oh man, this one is bad. Beyond bad!" a flustered red-head stops before him wide eyes haunted by what he had seen, true as a doctor in the Emergency room he had seen some things but this..

Trafalgar Law said nothing as he placed down the cup and began to march towards the operating room while the shorter man filled him in on their newly arrived patient.

"We don't have all the details just yet, it's a miracle this man is still able to breathe!" he finished his words laced with genuine concern for the unnamed man.

A soft grunt left Law as he nodded understanding the situation and increasing the speed of his gait pushing past the doors of the operating room and almost faltering in his pace. The scent of burning flesh was overwhelming, assaulting his senses with the unpleasant stench. Law wasted no time in being disgusted and continued on to the sink beginning the ritual routine scrub of his hands. Easily he fell into the rhythm, the shuffling movements and clear voices registering in his mind as his gloves were placed to cover his arms up to his elbows, his mass of his dark hair covered in the surgeon cap, the lower part of his face covered in a sanitary mask. Turning he faltered once more. Shachi's words coming back to him "it's a miracle this man is still able to breathe!" The man on the operating table should have been dead, it was possibly sheer will that was still keeping him attached to this plane.

'Shit, get it together Law!' he scolded himself mentally as he marched forward to side of the man attached to so many machines, all the devices noisily beeping as the heart they monitored beat erratically. Now scorched patients weren't usually brought to a surgeon, however not only was he severely burned, but there was also a great fist sized crater in the middle of the mans chest.

"He's lost too much blood." a nurse stated monotonously as she ran to the nearest refrigerated cabinet and frantically searched for the mans blood type.

In the very same moment Law took hold of his scalpel, turned to face his patient and was set to delve into the others wound only to be frozen in his movements. A weak palm wrapped around his wrist, even through the latex Law could feel the excessively warmth of the others burned hand. Gray eyes met the dark glazed eyes of his patient, a saddened smile on the dying man's lips. Law was stunned the man was even conscious, if the pain itself wasn't enough to pull him away from the conscious plane, then surely the anesthetic would have done the job,

Those chapped lips moved but no words could be heard, at least not at first. Law knew he had to do everything in his power to save the man under him, yet he was being prevented from doing so. His ears strained to hear the deathly quiet whisper that followed the man's first attempt as he clearly fought the pull of the anesthetic being pumped into what was left of his system. "…Tell him…I.. I love him." the man wheezed a tear slipping from the corner of his eye, across his freckled skin and trailing off into his singed dark hair. "Sorry Luffy…" the last shuddered words took with them the last of his man's life as in that last second his strength gave out.

The hand that had been holding onto Law unceremoniously fell back to the white sheet under him. The piercing wail of the heart monitor slapped him out of his stupor as Law called out for the Heart Emulator.

This man was not going to die on him! Law would be damned if he let this man die now.

The equipment was brought over and the nurse from before had finally returned with the blood, she had been gone for no more than a minute yet in that minute disaster had struck.

Just as Law readied the Emulator another hand was placed on his own. "Its no use Law… his organs are damaged beyond repair, his heart gave out. Call it."

Steel eyes lowered as did his hands.. There were times when he hated his job.

Looking at the chart he sighed. "Portgas D. Ace, time of death Tuesday December 3rd 2014 11:01 p.m." The words echoed from his lips as someone recorded the information.

Looking down for the last time before Ace's body was covered with the white hospital sheet, Law couldn't help but notice the smallest hint of a smile on the man's features.

The surgeon left then, his hand angrily tearing the cap from his head, noting for the first time that a fine sheet of sweat had amounted on his hidden skin. The mask came off next as he disposed of them in the nearest waste basket, the latex gloves following. 'Maybe if I hadn't hesitated..' the thought floated in his brain, heavily slumping his shoulders. Trafalgar Law knew that there was always a chance a patient wouldn't make it, yet that didn't make the loss any less of a burden. What had happened to that man anyway to end up in that sort of state?!

His answer never came as Law was snapped out of his thoughts as a rushing man sped crashed into him, earning a death glare from the surgeon.

The pediatrician with a penguin decorated beanie winced as he gave Law a cautious smile.

"Sorry Law, I just got an urgent call from the patient in room 207." no sooner had the words left the younger man before a bellowing cry resounded across the halls.

Both doctors looked down the hall where people were rushing into a room, Penguin excused himself once more before dashing in the same direction.

"I need to see him! Where is he!" Law distinctly heard the pain cries of a boy.

However, this was not his jurisdiction. Law sighed and turned on his heel, he needed to make a report about his most recent patient he shouldn't be standing in the hallways.

Quiet footsteps led him away before a single grief-filled cry tugged at the surgeons gut making him stop dead in his tracks.

"ACE!"


	2. Chapter 2: A Patient's Loss

**A/N: Hey everyone, I had really not expected to upload so soon, hope none of you mind ^-^.**

**Anyway, I own nothing of this fic, except maybe possibly the way the plot is turning out, aside from the cannon references. Enjoy! - Leafy**

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><p>"Get your <em>fucking <em>hands off of me! _ACE_!" The boy continued to shout desperately as no doubt the staff was doing everything they could to keep the boy from rushing out of his room.

"I said get _off_!"

Law could distinctly hear the anger, the misdirected loathing, and pure anguish in the voice. The deceased man's name left the younger's again and again, each time the hoarse call becoming more strained, more pained, and each shout lead the surgeon closet to it's origin.

Law knew not what was drawing him to the agonized cry of the teen, soon finding himself standing in the doorway to room 207.

Steel gray eyes took in the scene before him, a flurry of movements clearly registering in the older man's head as he watched for a moment as the teen managed to reclaim his right arm, quickly drawing back a tightly clenched fist and releasing it to the closet jaw, which so happened to be Penguin. The latter grunted releasing his hold on his other arm, leaving only one male nurse restraining his legs now.

Taking advantage of the situation the desperate boy pulled both free arms back and readied another round of blows.

_"Enough!"_ the command left Law in a harsh voice as he caught both fists before they had a chance to collide with the pale nurse.

Coal eyes redirected in his direction, the pain clearly displayed as they met unmoving steel gray eyes. Clenching his teeth the teen released what could only be described as a growl, his form visibly shaking from the vast amount of adrenaline his brain must have been producing.

"Where is Ace." the vicious whisper hissed past clenched teeth.

'Dead…' the thought whispered in Law's mind as he continued to look at the younger man. Years in the field had taught Law that that no matter how much doctors tried to sugar coat the truth, the impact was still the same. Blunt honesty was the best method in this circumstance in Law's opinion.

Calmly he looked into the dark gaze of the teen, however instead of stating what was on his mind, something else rolled off his tongue. "I think you know where your friend is."

The teen's forehead furrowed as he took in the surgeon's words. "Ace.. isn't my friend." he breathed out almost as if to assure himself of that very fact. His gaze suddenly flicked from Law's steel gray eyes to everything else. "Ace… Ace is my brother! Where is he!"

The strength returned to his limbs as he thrashed against his captors. He strained against Law's hold, kicking and twisting his body as much as he possibly could. The tantrum the teen was displaying began to eat away at what little patience he had. The repeated name of his lost patient only reminding Law that he was the one unable to help the other, and in some way he was indirectly responsible for the pain that was in the soul of the teen.

The previous anger that had rushed over Law, accompanied with guilt and his new founded irritation towards the inconsolable teen caused him to snap.

"No matter who he was, Ace is dead!" the harsh words left Law's lips before he could stop himself. Immediately he regretted his confession. Of course he had delivered the passing of someone's loved one before, but never in such a insensitive manner. Law distinctly heard both the nurse and Penguin take a hissing breath.

The boy under his hold flinched back as if Law had physically backhanded him.

The thrashing stopped, and the boy went limp as his eyes fell, disoriented and lost. "No… no" the single syllable word was the only thing that the boy could mutter.

Law felt the soft hands he held in his own steadily go cold, as the trembling returned to the boy's body.

"No.. y-you're wrong. Ace… Ace can't be" the teen's voice cracked with emotion as he gave off a humorless laugh suddenly clutching onto Law's hands. The lost gaze looking up at him as tears welled up in the distraught gaze.

"Ace is strong you hear me. Ace is the strongest man there is!" The teen searched for any sign of reassurance in the stoic man before him as the horrible sense of what he had been trying to keep at bay began to rise again. The dark sensation of fear, helplessness, loss consumed him rapidly. "He isn't…" a chocked sob left his lips as the boy held onto Law tightly, enough so that the surgeon scowled momentarily from the added pressure of the other.

At that moment the boy… broke.

His hands pulled away from Law as they buried themselves into his disheveled dark hair tearing at it from the roots as the most primal and pain filled cries left him.

Law visibly flinched at the scene, the budding sense of concern and sympathy rising before he shoved the feelings deep down.

"He's going into shock. Penguin get the sedative!" Law ordered as he held his hand out to the pediatrician, who immediately followed the order heading to the row of cabinets and flinging open the door, fishing out a sanitized needle pre-marked with the instructions to use as only a means of calming a patient.

And boy did they need this at this moment.

Tearing the plastic from the syringe Law readied the sedative. "Hold him down."

Ridding the liquid of any lingering air Law wasted no time in plunging the needle into the teen's bared neck as Penguin held him firmly in place.

The strangled cries grew more and more faint each time as the sedative quickly spread throughout the teen's body mostly due to the rapidly beating heart.

The teen fought against the unwanted pull of the drug. Accusingly glaring up at Law. A single word leaving his lips before he fell under the drugs influence. _"You…"_

The ragged breath of the boy began to regulate as Law sighed and looked away from the unconscious boy.

"Secure him to the bed, we cant trust he will be fine when he wakes up." the surgeon ordered one last time before he turned and left the room once more.

And for the second time that night, Trafalgar Law hated his job.

Hours later the surgeon sat at his desk reclining in his seat, his chin resting against the back of his hands as they were propped up before him. Law was currently looking over the reports of the two new found patients. Portgas D. Ace and Monkey D. Luffy.

Normally such information wouldn't be in the surgeon's hands, nor would he have snooped into the personal lives of his patients, former or not, and hell Luffy wasn't even under his care. Yet, he had somehow been left in charge of that man's last will.

Law groaned under his breath, it wasn't unheard of for the doctors of Heart Community to do all they could to ease the emotional pain of their patients even if it included a few lies of comfort here and there. And even though Law didn't in any way indicate to Ace that he would follow through with relaying his message to Luffy, he felt as though he owed it to the man to complete his last will, to not let his last few moments of life become wasted.

And thus Law called in a few favors and was able to get the personal history on the two in a matter of a few hours. To say that Trafalgar Law was well connected was an understatement, Law was very well connected to many high ranked officials even if he didn't entirely liked to admit he knew some of them.

Interestingly enough, the two weren't related as Luffy had lead on, though they had both been raised in the same orphanage.

Ace's mother had died right after birth, his father's name never once mentioned in the reports, and Law didn't question it any further. With no other relatives to speak of the infant was sent to Dadan's Home for Children.

Skimming over the records Law read on about the man, it was clear he enjoyed getting in trouble, even had a few scuffles with the Law. There were a few visits to the juvenile hall, most of the incidents strangely enough linked to food in one way or another, dining and dashing, shoplifting and similar situations.

The was one detail that stood out to the surgeon, though, a picture taken of the man's back clearly displayed the symbol widely recognized in the underground community.

The pieces were starting to fall into place for Law of how the man had possibly met his end, he had angered someone one way or another and the other had retaliated, harshly according to the autopsy.

Law sneered, whatever trouble Ace had gotten into was huge to earn him a thorough beating, broken ribs, punctured organs, and most notably the crater in his chest. A flare gun had been pointed at him at point blank range and fired.

"Why are you getting so worked up about this Law, you know this doesn't concern you!" he whispered onto his steepled fingers boring holes into the paperwork before him.

"Leave the matter be. Let the authorities handle it." was what he said to himself, yet he found himself looking over the second file now.

Monkey D. Luffy, unlike Ace, the boy was willingly placed into the system by his grandfather at the age of seven. No mention of either his mother or father are given, not their whereabouts or if they remained amongst the living.

This information didn't sit well with the surgeon, though it was in no way his place to voice an opinion, he didn't approve of the decision of the boy's relative to so callously hand him over to the system.

Ignoring the budding irritation, Law continued to read the file. It seemed the only two connections Luffy and Ace had were the orphanage that they both grew up in and getting caught skipping out on paying meals, however, Luffy had never received any time for it, only Ace had.

It seemed the older of the two was taking care of the younger one even back then.

This lead to a new question to rise in Law's mind, was what happened to Ace a result of the younger's mischief?

Frowning Law closed the files and reclined in his chair closing his exhausted gaze.  
>His moment of relaxation didn't last, however, as his phone rang. Pressing his lips together he glared at the device, picking up the cordless object as it automatically answered the call. "Yes?"<p>

"Ah, Law. Good you're in your office." the female on the other end spoke up before crunching sounds resounded in the receiver. "The men in suits are here." she finished after a few more crunches.

Law sighed as his forefinger and thumb gently pushed over his closed eyes. "Thank you, Bonney. Now please stop eating chips during your shift." the surgeon drawled out hoping against hope the reports she would handle would be stain free.

Her incoherent response was cut off as Law ended the call and picked up the autopsy report, heading out to meet the investigators that were there to look into the mess he was sure.

The two investigators stood out in front the main reception desk, where Bonney reclined back in her chair carelessly stiffing more chips into her mouth. Grimacing Law continued to the two officers, before offering a nod of acknowledgement.

Quite a pair they were, the male of the two was a rather large built man, twice the width of Law himself, a permanent scowl etched into his rugged features, his white hued hair shaved from both sides though longer and slicked back on the crown of his head. 'A shame', Law thought distantly as he looked at the muscled man, 'he's not doing himself any favors with that frown.'

Then there was his partner, she was every bit his opposite as it could get, the girl stood a foot or so smaller than the man beside her, nearly as thin as a twig if you didn't count the excessive curves to her frame.

Where the man screamed muscles and aggression, she seemed like the one to possess most of the brains.

Trafalgar was rarely interested in the appearances of others, much less women, though he supposed she could be considered attractive, even with her rectangular spectacles, they only added more to his assumption that she was the intelligent one of the two.

"Trafalgar Law, I presume, I am Agent Tashigi, and this is Agent Smoker. I believe you know why we are here." the female officer said with a clear authority she had adopted in her time in the field while presenting her state authorized badge as well as the needed paperwork to receive the copies of the autopsy report.

"I can only assume it has to so with the passing of Portgas D. Ace." the young surgeon states dryly as he looked over the documents, exchanging them over the death report. A small smirk given as he had guessed correctly, she did the talking, and the other was there for intimidation.

"Is the body identifiable?" Smoker gruffed out earning the complete gaze of the surgeon.

"I suppose to those that know him by sight. His severe burns are mainly in the upper torso, though there was damage of first degree burn over much of his body, his hair as the report lets you know was singed, though, still in tact, it was his organs that suffered the most. He died only moments after arriving. All of the examiner's photos and notes are within the file should you need them. Do you still want to see the body?"

Tashigi grimaced as she glanced over the photos that were provided and slipped the file into Smoker's hands. "That is Ace, I'm positive." she confirmed and fixed her glasses over the bridge of her nose.

"One last thing, we also got a report that there was a kid with Ace at the time of the incident, is the kid here as well?"

Law hesitated for a moment before he nodded. "A boy was brought in with Portgas, his palms suffered from first degree burn as well, though that is the extent of his wounds. At least physically." the surgeon confirmed leading the way down the hall and towards room 207.

"And what do you mean 'at least physically'?" Agent Tashigi inquired keeping pace with the surgeon.

"We believe the boy has suffered a mental breakdown upon learning of the passing of his friend. We had to sedate him to treat his wounds and here he is." Law nodded in the direction of the sleeping teen.

"How long will he be out?" she asked after a single pause.

"Hard to say, the dosage we gave him lasts a few hours, the effect should be wearing off soon. His brain, however, may not be ready to face the harsh reality he will be forced into upon waking and in his defense will remain shut down until it feels he could handle the situation."

"I thought you were a surgeon, not a shrink." the white haired agent rumbled next to Law, once again earning a glare from the surgeon. "I minored in Psychology, as well as a few other subjects."

The burly man simply let put a grunt in response, while Tashigi sighed, "We need to take this report back to Headquarters, we can't around here until the kid wakes up." she stated rather flustered as she glanced at her watch before reaching into her pocket and pulled out a business card. "We will take our leave now, but when he wakes up, please give us a call."

"Sure" the surgeon muttered taking the card in hand, nodding once more as the pair took their leave.

A dismissive gaze looked the small card over before tucking it into his pocket and entering the room of the teen. Steel gray eyes looked over to the sleeping boy restrained on the hospital bed his eyes roaming the still figure before his eyes settled on his face in time to see a tear slip past his closed lids and into his hair.

"I'm truly sorry for your loss, Luffy-ya." Law whispered under his breath reaching out to wipe away the stray tear away unsure himself of why he felt the need to comfort the boy, yet here he was.

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><p><strong>AN: I'm sorry for the lack of Luffy x Law fluff, I promise that is going to start building up in the following chapters. I would really like to know what you guys think ^-^ or if you have any ideas that could fit in here? Feel free to let me know! Thank you for reading - Leafy**


	3. Chapter 3: An Unrefusable Offer

**A/N: Hey guys, back with another chapter, thank you so much to those of you who reviewed, and to that first anonymous reviewer how I wish I could message you, lol.**

**Anyway onto the third chapter, names for them might be assigned later on I don't know yet. **

**As Always, I own nothing in this fic. Also any and all errors are my own let me know if you see any really nad ones and correct me :D Enjoy! -Leafy**

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><p>It hadn't taken the others long to notice the sudden interest Law had developed for the unconscious teen. Minutes after his first sit down with the dark haired boy Penguin and Shaichi had studied him while murmuring amongst themselves. Law heard occasional phrases, 'he looks like him' 'yeah, scowls like Law.' 'same height' 'same tattoo's' 'same look of annoyance'. The list continued before the two earned a dangerous glare from the man.<p>

Both had raised their hands in defense as Shaichi grinned, "You can't blame us Law, since when have you taken a liking to anyone, patient or not. We just want to make sure everything is okay."

"S'all fine." Law grumbled turning back to the paperwork he was filling out.

"Uh-huh.. so you assure us you are the real Law right?" Penguin chimed in earning a sideways glance from the surgeon.

"When you first started here and had that fucking hideous perm, you scared a claurophobic kid so bad he soiled himself and his mother punched the shit out of you." Law deadpanned. The story bringing a small smile to the man's lips. It was years ago, Penguin had just gotten the job of pediatrician and was having fun entertaining the young crowd. It just so happened that one of his patients of the day was scared to death of clowns, so when Penguin barged in there with his awful hair the kid automatically freaked out. Earning the wrath of the mother and having to clean up the mess. From that day forward, Penguin has worn his 'child friendly' penguin hat.

The pediatrician pouted turning in his chair. "Yeah, that's him all right."

Shaichi on the other side of Penguin howled in laughter, "Oh god! I had completely forgotten about that, hey did the kid ever come back?"

Penguin pushed his lip out further managing to sound miserable, "No." and the response only made Shaichi laugh even more.

Though Law had a hint of his own he still thought the two were '_Idiots..._'

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><p>In time Law began to make small mental notes about the two. He had noticed that even though Luffy and Ace were not blood related brothers, the two did have a striking resemblance, though where the deceased of the two was athletically built, and much more masculine in appearance, and if Law was honest with himself, Ace had had a near Adonis physique. Though on the other hand Luffy was slimmer, and much more lean than the older man, where the other seemed to have excelled at lifting weights, the teen looked… fragile in comparison.<p>

'Delicate. Innocent. A child.' Law thought to himself as he was sitting next to the unconscious boy , a small frown appearing on his usually calm features. These thoughts didn't sit well with the surgeon as he sighed and turned the page in a book he was glancing at every now and then.

"The more you remain in that state, the harder it will be for you to come back, Luffy-ya." Law spoke softly turning a page again before noticing that he had in fact reached the end of the book.

He had absorbed nothing from the paperback that was currently in his hands, hell, what was the title anyway he mused turning the book around only to cringe. _Copper Moon_

What the fuck was a supernatural teenage romance book doing in his possession?! Law screamed internally as he chucked the book onto the bedside table.

"I didn't know you enjoyed reading these, Law." an amused voice spoke up suddenly, "I would have pegged you for more of a _Thirty Layers of Passion_ kinda guy." the man said with barely suppressed laughter as he flipped back and forth through the discarded trashy novel.

"I was wondering when you would show up…" Law replied coldly ignoring the jabs that were made by the man.

"Well I was going to send one of the others, but how could I pass up the opportunity of visiting my favorite Godchild, hm?" the honey sweet voice joked as its owner set the book down stepping further into the room.

Steel gray eyes landed heavily on him as Law took in the rare sight of the tanned blonde man. "You are not my Godfather, you decided to place that title onto yourself. Now what do you want." the surgeon states granting the man his full intention.

"Why must you be so cruel to me Law." the man huffed though chuckled all the same as he sauntered over to the edge of the bed, his sunglasses reflecting light into the heavy stare of the surgeon as he too stood, towering over the unconscious teen.

"Stop avoiding the question Doflamingo." Law said completely dismissing the comment.

Making the older man 'tsk' and cock his head to the side. "How many times must I ask you to call me¾"

"Speak or get out." Law interrupts refusing to even hear mention of the name he wished to be called.

"Fine, fine. Don't get your panties in a twist, while it was true that I stopped by to see you, I also wanted to see if the rumors circulating the vines true." The man smiled, his grin stretching across his features in a way no normal smile should.

"My dear Godchild, word is circulating that you refused to save Portgas D. Ace on your table. Tell me did you do this for me?" the man hummed shaded gaze looking expectantly over to the surgeon.

Law's world seemed to stop with that sentence alone, his stoic features giving nothing away to his initial shock, he had expected that Doflamingo, or someone of his clan would have appeared sooner or later to confirm the man's death. But to praise him… no _accuse_ him of doing such a thing, of refusing to save a life and all for this man?!

Trafalgar Law had done no such thing, he was prepared to save Ace, he was ready to begin saving as much of that burned tissue as possible, of giving the man a second chance to live, and instead he had allowed himself to be stopped, his hands paused by the man at Death's door as the other allowed death to take him. And as such he left this mess behind. A shattered brother, whom he is standing guard over, the authorities barging in every other hour to make sure they have every fucking detail, and now he managed to somehow place Law in the lime light of the underworld as the man who refused to save his life?

'Well shit…' Law thought bitterly. '

"Ah you don't need to say anything Law. And here I thought you no longer wanted anything to do with me after our little parting." the man continued to speak thinking nothing of the silence as he continued to put on his idiotic, shit eating grin. "Am I right to assume you want to come back to us, Law?"

"No." the word was said before he even had to think over the offer, composing himself he shook his head. "And I did no such thing, Doflamingo. He was too far gone to be saved, set those rumors straight and make it known that I had nothing to do with it, with you, or with anything going on in the underworld." Law growled fighting to keep his voice low should there be anyone passing by the room they were currently in.

"Now now Law." Doflamingo began waving his hand dismissively towards Law's worries. "If Whitebeard is what troubles you rest assured he has set his sights on the culprit that pulled the trigger. Though, who knows maybe after finding his man he'll come after you."

Law sighed running a tattooed hand through his hair. "Fucking shit." He cursed thinking back to the day he had first discovered Ace's identity. The large purple tattoo had been a dead give away to his affiliation with the Whitebeard clan. And whoever had gotten the balls to kill the man, well he could honestly say he hadn't given the consequences a second thought for that unfortunate person. But now, now he was finding out that there are some fucking retard out there publicly blaming the final blow on him.

A pensive hum interrupted him from his thoughts as Law shot his piercing gaze to the blonde haired man, "Stop those rumors!"

"Oh but they are so fun, Law. And the fame it brings me, it's delicious. I'm known as the one to have sired the Death Surgeon you know, this news just boosts up my name." The man chuckles completely unconcerned with the situation.

Law scoffs and fists his hands at his sides. The other came for a reason, and it wasn't to warn Law of the retaliation that was soon to come, no Doflamingo never did anything out of worry. "Tell me what you really want..." Law began needing to pause as he gathered his thoughts and dismissed his pride for the one word. "Doffy-ya." He growled through clenched teeth.

Mock surprise lit the older man's features before a cackle took hold of his frame, the laugh earning a few glanced in their direction but was quickly dismissed. The teen on the hospital bed, too not giving a single indication that he was aware of the two above him.

"Oh! How have I waited to hear those words leave your lips, Law!" Doflamingo said sobering as much as possible from his laugh. His full on face-splitting grin back on full effect as he answered the question.

"Why, I want us to be a family again, Law. I'm tired of waiting for you to come to your senses, so what do you say hm? Join me and I'll clear your name from these amusing rumors." The blonde offered him as casually as if Law wasn't being asked to sell his soul... again.

Exhaling a breath through his nostrils, Law bore holes into the tacky shades the other wore, staring him down as the other raised a slim brow. The tell tale sign Doflamingo was beginning to become impatient.

Obvious anger grew in the younger man as he searched for a way out of the current mess without having to abandon everything he has built up until now. Whitebeard's wrath would follow him not only to the ends of the Earth itself, but to the realm beyond as well. Currently there was no way out of getting blamed for the death of Portgas, both he and Doflamingo knew this well.

'Motherfucker!' Law cursed the man before him continuing to remain silent.

Doflamingo took that as his cue to chuckle, "I don't hear a refusal. And the defeat is evident in your face, Law my dear child, welcome back to the family." The man cheered clapping a hand on his shoulder, laughing merrily. Though every laugh, every breath in between Doflamingo took was like a slap to the face to the young surgeon.

Everything the blonde hair man said after that was a blur in Law's mind until he was alone with Luffy.

He didn't know how long he had been alone in the teen's room, watching everything and nothing at the same time. Five years, all gone down the drain it seemed, he had managed to escape that life and now it had returned to claim it all because of- he paused in his mind taking a look at the teen resting on the hospital bed.

A thin lipped smile was sent in his direction. "Which one of us has it worse, Luffy-ya?" he contemplated not expecting an answer from the silent patient Law stood up heading to the small window near the teens hospital bed. He needed to get his mind off things, he needed a distraction...

It's hard to tell how long Law had looked out of that window watching the occasional car zoom by, before he was snapped out of it by rustling sheets.

Whirling Law's steel gray gaze immediately took in the sight of drowsy coal eyes. They looked around slowly, from the door to the curtains, to his covered feet and anchored arms. No alarm registered as he tried and failed to move his hands from the restraints. Confusion furrowed his brow as his eyes then landed on Law.

"Where am I?" the raspy voice asked, tired from lack of use.

Almost as if breaking the spell, Law rushed to where a small container held some lukewarm water, pouring it in a cup and offering it to the teen as he gently tilted the liquid to his lips.

"You are in Heart Community hospital, you've been asleep for seven days.."

The teen drank desperately, the water gone in mere seconds, downing his second and third cup before he mulled the information over. "That's a long nap... how many meals have I missed.." he wondered groggily looking to Law as if he had the answer to that too.

'Meals...' Law thought shaking his head and offering his answer, "About 21, give or take.."

"I think its more than just 21." the teen said through a bright smile before a thought made it dim. "Who are you?"

"Trafalgar Law" the surgeon answered as a small tinge of sadness touched his features.

"Tra.. Tro.. Torao. Um, hey do you know who I am?" the boy asks confirming the growing suspicions of the surgeon, his brain had gone so far to protect him from the pain of losing his brother. In order to shield itself it shoved every thought of Ace away, taking Luffy's memories with it.

"What do you remember?" Law asks knowing the answer already.

The teen pauses for a minute his furrowed brow vanishing as a haunted and confused look overtook his features.

"Nothing."

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><p><strong>And there you have it ^^ Let me know what you think. Thank you for reading! - Leafy<strong>


	4. Chapter 4: His Awakening

**Hey Everyone! So great news! I was able to upload again, yay right? Thank you so much to all of those that have taken the time to not only read the fic, but have also favorite-ed , followed, and reviewed. It really means alot to me and it honestly helps with the writing process. I also like knowing what you guy's think, are you satisfied with how the story is going or would you want something else thrown in there? Anyway I'll stop with the unnecessary chatter.**

**I own nothing in this fic, all rights go to the original author. And now for the fourth chapter. Enjoy~**

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><p>The clothes Luffy had arrived in had been sealed in a bag, but were labeled as unusable by the department.<p>

Thus Law had taken it upon himself to pick something out the moment he had been told this information. On the second day, while the other was asleep Law had gone to _Criminal_ the popular clothing line he often heard Shaichi and Penguin raving about, the quick trip had resulted in a few shirts for the teen, three pairs of shorts, some socks, a pair of shoes, and boxer shorts. As Law had prepared to go to the check out line, a hoodie stopped him. And as such a yellow and black hoodie and long coat decorated in the same colors were added to his purchase.

Now as he began to un-restrain Luffy, Law sighed returning to the question that had been asked not too long ago. "As far as I know, your name is Monkey D. Luffy-ya. Does that ring any bells?" he asked undoing the final brace and releasing the silent teen.

"Monkey D. Luffy-ya.. Torao that's a weird name. Shishishi." the boy chuckled startling Law, as he looked to the laughing teen.

'Maybe the mental breakdown went farther than just amnesia?' He wondered as the teen had gone from pensive to cheery, flashing Law a wide smile as his questions continued. "What does the D stand for? Is my name really Luffy-ya? What kind of bells should I be on the look out for Torao?"

Cold gray eyes looked at the optimistic boy as Law sighed and handed over a set of clothes, having half a mind to correct him as to his name, 'Torao' didn't even come close to resembling Trafalgar. Though he kept his thoughts to himself knowing he had to be patient with the amnesic teen.

"Even though the name is odd, it is yours look at the band around your wrist, it states your name. I have no idea what the D stands for. Your name really is Luffy-ya. And when I mentioned the bells, it's a saying, meaning if the name meant anything to you, not that you would hear actual bells."

Glancing at the band as suggested, the teen hummed stepping into the bathroom where he could get dressed, leaving the door only slightly parted. "The name didn't fit Torao, its missing the 'ya'." Luffy called out mulling over the thought of his name, the cheer leaving his voice as he muttered to himself. "Can it really be mine?"

Outside Law paused as he folded the sheets back on the hospital bed, "Ah, that's a habit, adding the 'ya' suffix I mean." he answered looking up only as the teen had come out and nodded. "Follow me, there are some people that want to speak with you."

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><p>Nodding solemnly, Luffy followed him, repeating his name under his breath hoping to find any sort of recognition from it.<p>

None came to mind, but he trusted the older man, maybe it wasn't wise to trust someone you had only met half an hour or so ago. Then again was that their first meeting? Did this man know Luffy before he had gone to sleep so long? Surely someone who waited for you at a hospital while you slept and gave you water and clothes meant they were a good person right?Luffy didn't know the right answer to these questions. He might not remember anything from before, but Luffy thought he could at least trust his judgment, and right now his gut was telling him that he could trust the older man, along with telling him that he was hungry...

He wondered distantly if these people he was supposed to see were nice too. Hopefully they were, and if they weren't, well at least he had his fiend Torao with him, the thought brought a sense of comfort to him and with it, a smile.

Soon Luffy found himself sitting in Torao's office, a discarded meal on the edge of the desk while he was sitting in a plush chair entertaining himself with the Newton balls that sat on the man's desk. Pulling the end of one ball as far back as he could Luffy released it and watched with interest as it collided with the others and carried the force to the other end. So engrossed was he in the simple activity that he ignored the phone call the other man made. "Hey, Torao, why dont' the middle ones move?"

The man in question ended the call and sighed before sitting before the teen, those steel gray eyes looking at the moving spheres. "Its a simple theory of momentum and force, Luffy-ya. The force and momentum that the first one carries upon being released is transferred to the stationary three in the middle as they pass it along from one to another until it reaches the other end. And since that last sphere has nothing to restrain it, the force and velocity from the first is given to it, and as such continues on the path upwards finishing for the first. The act repeats as the end ball descends and hits the others, returning the force and speed. Understand?"

Luffy had listened intensely nodding to the explanation the surgeon had given him, seeming to understand every single detail until he chuckled. "Shishishi, so magical balls!" he summed up failing to notice the shocked look he received from the surgeon who sighed and rolled his eyes.

Fidgeting in his chair Luffy continued to play with the 'magical' Newton balls before stopping and frowning. "Hey Torao?"

"Yes Luffy-ya?" the doctor asked while keeping his attention in a file filled with papers.

"I'm hungry. Can I have some meat?"

"You just ate a couple of minutes ago, how can you be hungry again?" the doctor asked looking up from the file a light frown on his features as he pointed to the empty lunch tray that he had brought in for the patient.

Luffy shrugged his shoulders helplessly as he pouted. "I don't know Torao, but I'm hungry." Earning a sigh from Law. "Unfortunately, because you were unconscious for an entire week and were unable to eat we have to adjust your diet a bit. In fact I'm surprised you were able to finish that portion. Usually people who wake up after a coma are only able to stomach soups." the older man explained returning to his reading.

"But soups don't fill me up!" the teen whined his pout becoming more prominent.

"Luffy-ya-" his words were stopped as his phone rang. "Hold on." he muttered, making the teen curious and momentarily leaving his thoughts of hunger as he watched the other answer the phone. "Yes?"

After a moment of listening, Torao closed the file placing it to the side and looked to Luffy, "Send them in Bonney." he finished and placed the phone back on the receiver.

Luffy looked puzzled to the man though said nothing as the silence dragged on for a few minutes before a knock was heard at the door and two people stepped inside. Luffy looked over the back of the chair and took in the soght. A man and a woman in suits closed the door behind them and made their way over to Torao and him. The man looked anything but friendly, and his scowl was doing nothing to ease the teen as he shrunk back from his gaze. was he supposed to recognize these people? he wondered looking to Torao for help but finding none.

Taking the seat next to him, a dark haired woman looked at him with a small smile, offering her hand to the teen. "Hello, you must be Monkey D. Luffy. I am Tashigi, and this is my partner Smoker, how are you feeling?"

Luffy took the offered hand and shook it uncertainly, "I guess I must be." he muttered under his breath before looking back up at the seemingly nice woman. "Nice to meet you, um, I don't know you if you're introducing yourself, right?" he asked genuinely wondering if the three had met before.

Agent Tashigi knitted her brows as she looked to the teen. "No, we haven't met prior to today, we are just following up on a case. Luffy, what can you tell me of Portgas D. Ace?"

"Who?" the teen asked confused once again. "Am I supposed to know, um what was his name, gas? No that doesn't sound right Por.. Pork.. No thats's a kind of meat." the teen rambled as he struggled to make the name stick to his memory, each time he tried, the name was discarded as soon as it appeared. "I'm sorry what was the name again?"

Just as the woman was about to answer his question, the white haired hulk of a man growled lowly. "The name is Portgas D. Ace you little brat! What do you know about him!"

The harsh words made the teen flinch as he was verbally assaulted his coal eyes widening and adverting from the intimidating figure of the man and to the only person he trusted, Torao.

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><p>The surgeon watched the scene with a narrowed gray gaze. He had consented with the woman's request and called them upon the teen's awakening but it was proving to be a bad decision on his part.<p>

"Agent Smoker-ya, do refrain from raising your voice or I will have to ask you to leave." Law began, not missing the look of relief that flooded the dark gaze of the teen, and facing the full wrath of the man's intense stare.

"How do you know for sure if the kid isn't faking it, he could be pretending not to know anything in order to keep whoever did this to his-"

"_Smoker-ya!" _Law hissed interrupting the older male fixing him with a deathly glare of his own as he pushed off of his chair. "I assure you that my patient is faking nothing. The mind is quite a complex thing, and as much as I would love to go into the details of post traumatic stress disorder, I'm afraid my schedule doesn't allow me the luxury of going too far into the details. Do us all a favor and study up on the matter, before you decide to chew out my patient." The surgeon began walking around his desk to stand to the side of the teen.

Smoker's frown turned to a furiously dark grimace. "Post traumatic disorder my ass, the kid's playing us all for fools. And I'll prove it too when we get him down to Headquarters."

"Get him to Headquarters?" Law scoffed placing a palm on the back of Luffy's chair as he stood over him protectively, not giving the action a second thought. "_You _will not be taking him anywhere. Tell me has the boy been charged? Is he suspected in the case? Is there anything linking him to the case other than the fact that he could have been a simple witness to the events?" Law asked barely able to control the anger he was experiencing, keeping his words as calm and reasonable as he could.

"Well not exactly, Dr. Trafalgar, we only wanted to find out the story from Luffy's point of view. You have to understand, we don't mean him any harm." Agent Tashigi spoke up now trying to cover up for her partner shooting him a scathing glare as their chance of interrogating the teen grew smaller and smaller.

"While I understand that you mean well, and only wish to gather information. I'm afraid that I can't allow you to continue this interrogation. For the sake of his well being I must ask you to take your leave, I apologize for having you come all this way, but as you can see, Luffy-ya is unable to talk of the incident just yet." Law began as he moved to stand over the silent teen and ushering the pair towards the door.

"He won't always be under your care, Trafalgar, and when the day comes that he is released, he will come with us." Smoker threatened.

Law ignored this comment, glaring at the male as he dismissed them and closed the door to his office. "We'll see about that." Law finally muttered closing the door and walking over to the silent teen. "Hey, Luffy-ya?" he asked softly taking the female agent's seat in front of the teen. "You alright."

It took a moment before the teen nodded hesitantly, "I can't remember the name they asked about.. its almost as if I can't commit it to memory. I can remember your's Torao, mines, the lady's and Smokey's but what was the others?"

Before he knew what he was doing, Law found himself stretching his arm out and gently ruffling the teen's ebony tresses. "Hey now, don't worry so much, Luffy-ya, the guy was a jerk."

Luffy nodded and once again pulled on one of the Newton balls, "Torao, is something wrong with me? Why can't I remember who I am? And what is this incident that you guys kept talking about?"

Sighing silently Law couldn't say he hadn't expected these questions coming. Shaking his head Law offered a gentle smile, a rare thing it was according to Shaichi and Penguin, "There is nothing wrong with you Luffy-ya, your mind just thinks it best for you to not remember certain things, like what happened to your hands." the surgeon supplied greatful that the white haired bastard hadn't mentioned a death. There was no telling what could happen in these cases, a simple word could trigger the mind of the teen. And Law had seen first hand how badly the teen had taken the news the first time around. The second, it would probably destroy him beyond repair.

"Oh so these are burns." he asked shifting his gaze to his bandaged hands and studying them intently, a smile breaking past the worry and confusion. "Shishishi, do you think the meat was good?" he asked assuming he received the injuries in a food related incident.

Law's gaze widened in shock. 'Food, the idiot thinks that he touched a burning piece of..' he stopped his thoughts as a cold wave chilled his blood. That had been exactly what he boy had touched, his brother's flaming flesh. Snapping out of his thoughts Law sighed slumping back into the chair. "Luffy-ya, since you aren't hurt and have been treated, you can't stay at the hospital, I suppose you don't know where you can stay?"

"Not a clue, you're the only friend I know, Torao." the teen answered noticably in a better mood.

'Friend..' the word replayed in the surgeon's mind as he frowned lightly, it wasn't an unpleasant thought. "I thought so. Let me make a few phone calls, I'll have Bonney bring you some food." he said knowing the other would be distracted by that promise if his previous behavior was anything to go by.

"Food~" the teen happily cheered as he practically bounced off the chair, causing the dark haired surgeon to smile faintly as he called Bonney and arranged for another plate of food for the teen.

Satisfied that the other would be distracted from listening on his conversation. Law waited patiently for the food to arrive before pulling out his phone. As much as it hurt his pride to do what he was about to do, he couldn't help it. He needed _his_ help if he wanted to keep the boy safe for the time being.

'Fuck...' he cursed making up his mind and unblocking a certain number before dialing. The phone dial dragged on, and just when he thought the other wouldn't answer, Law cringe hearing the amused voice.

"Doffy-ya.. I need a favor..."

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><p><strong>AN: Oooh just what is law up to calling Doffy? I loved writing Law's parts in this chapter ^^ hopefully you enjoyed reading them? Also I'm sorry I messed up in Chapter 2, I'll be fixing the Bonney Jewelry name mix-up for those of you who caught it. **

**Again thank you so much for reading, and any thoughts you would like to share? Let me know, until next time guys! - Leafy**


	5. Chapter 5: His Name is Bepo

**Hey Guys, hope you are all doing well ^^. I am back with another chapter, and many thanks to all of you wonderful people that have followed and favorited the story. Special thanks to those who have reviewed. Now without further adieu, I own nothing in the fic, enjoy!**

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><p>Ten minutes, the call Law had made had taken no more than ten minutes and he was already feeling the effects of it. He loathed speaking to that man, especially after what had transpired not even a week ago. Yet, he was the only one who could pull off what Law had planned in such a short amount of time, and effectively so, even if Law hated to admit to the fact.<p>

Feeling not only mentally but physically drained Law slumped into his chair his forearm settling over his closed eyes. He enjoyed the silence that followed the stressful phone call as he tried to settle his mind, or at least he would have if he had been alone.

"Hey Torao, you okay?"! Luffy asked now finished with his meal and thus with nothing to distract him he focused his attention to Law.

All the teen got back in response was a grunt, not specifying if he was alright or not. Honestly, Law wasn't so sure. What the fuck was he doing anyway?!

Why did he care so much about what happens to the teen, is it guilt for being unable to ward off Death, or what, he knew it wasn't a passing whim in which he continues to indulge out of boredom, no it was something else. Something Law refused to acknowledge, something that went beyond simple feelings…

Luffy's situation felt all too familiar to Law though he never dwelt on the thought, he refused to give that part of his memory any of his attention.

Instead Law sighed and sat back up, his slate gray eyes taking in the teenager once again meeting the big obsidian gaze that only reflected unwavering trust back to the surgeon. Luffy was in his care from the moment he had stepped into the hospital that fateful night last week.

From the files that he had gathered in the week, Law had made the surprising find that Luffy was not living in the city of Punk Hazard like his adoptive brother Ace, who had been renting an apartment somewhere in the city before it was set ablaze. 'Even if Luffy-ya had been living in Punk Hazard,' he thought to himself, 'that place is no longer an option for him to stay in…'

The paperwork for the teen's discharge had been a fairly easy process for the surgeon, what followed after though, was a shock to the staff to say the least. Law made it known much to the bafflement of Penguin and Shaichi that he was going to be taking care of the teen.

"You, _Trafalgar Law,_ are going to take care of the brat! In your _own_ home?!" Shaichi asked incredulously voicing out the ridiculous idea, since when had Law been this friendly to anyone?.

"Seeing as he had no living relatives and no home to speak of," Law began his reasoning not at all liking the tone in his friend's voice, "and not to mention he has no memory of anything prior to last night, I don't want to release him from the Hospital, but I can't legally keep him here unless he is physically injured. Shaichi-ya he can't even remember his own name, and you expect me to just kick him out on the streets?"

The doctor visibly flinched as Law's words reached him. "That's not what I meant, Law. But there are always other kinds of hospitals where we can take the kid." Shaichi stated giving the mentioned teen a side glance as the other sat down the hall entertained with a children's book he most likely got from the children's waiting area.

Sighing Law bore stone gray eyes in the red head's direction. "I am not taking him into an institution, I don't trust those places and you know that. All they do is shoot up their patients with meds, they don't even try to help those in their care."

Raising his hands in surrender Shaichi said nothing, elbowing Penguin slightly, his look pleading the pediatrician to redirect the intense stare. Which the doctor did, Penguin turned the surgeon's attention onto himself. "We get it Law, we do… well sort of." the man said before hesitantly adding. "What Shaichi is trying to say is why are you so interested in this guy. You don't know anything about him, he isn't a friend, hell not even a friend of a friend and here you are opening your house to him."

"Yeah," the red head spoke up once again with the support of the pediatrician, "No matter how you look at this Law, this sort of behavior just isn't you. We've known you since forever and not once have you invited other people over, unless." the redhead paused before his eyes grew wide. "You _do_ know he is underage right?"

The conversation was really eating up the last of Law's nerves and as much as he liked the two guys, he couldn't guarantee their safety if they continued to push his buttons. "Of course I know that!" he ground out through clenched teeth forcing himself to calm down. "Listen, the boy's brother died on my table, and there is a message I have to give him when he is in his right state of mind. I don't know how long it'll be until he regains his memories but until then, I will keep my word and deliver the man's final will."

And with reason on his side, Law took Luffy home.

Stepping out of the Hospital with the teen by his side Law lead the way to the staff parking lot, each step bringing him closer to his car and soon enough his home.

"Hey Torao, you work at the hospital right?" the teen asked after being silent so long.

"Yes, I work at the hospital." Law answered not bothering to look at the teen by his side but listening to Luffy as he asked. "So are you all done for today Torao?"

"I actually wasn't supposed to be at the Hospital today, it's my day off." he answered casually missing the look of surprise from the teen, who then chuckled. "Shishishi is it because you were looking after me, Torao?"

Law turned his gaze sharply towards Luffy at those words taking a moment before answering nonchalantly. "I had some business to take care of."

"Ah Torao~" the teen whined his bottom lip poking out in a pout. "I thought we were friends, and that since you were in the room when I woke up, you were taking care of me."

"It was a coincidence." was all Law said as he turned his eyes back to where he was going, though he of course didn't need to do so since he had his own designated parking space.

Next to him the teen huffed muttering something under his breath Law didn't quite hear as he pressed the small button on his keychain, unlocking his car.

"Awesome! Is that really your car Torao?!" the teen exclaimed suddenly forgetting his muttering as his eyes shone with amazement at the sleek vehicle before him.

A small smile graced Law's features as he opened the door to his onyx hued Tesla Model S allowing the teen inside. "I just had to have it when it was released." he said simply closing the door and rounding the car to take the drivers seat.

"I don't even know if I own a car, but damn I doubt its anything like yours!" the teen continued to praise the car as he took in every detail he could.

Law watched as the teen was amazed with the purring engine, the lit up touch screen between them, and the soft leather seats, the Luffy seemed to melt into them, his overexcited gaze blinking and growing tired fighting the pull of sleep until it proved to be too much.

Law backed out of the parking lot and headed home not surprised to see Luffy had fallen asleep. Sure he had been in a self induced coma, but even then his mind had been working to build the wall that kept his memories locked away, only now could his mind truly rest.

At least that was what the doctor thought as he lost himself in his own thoughts.

In less than an hour Law's Model S was parked in his driveway, the purring engine steadily calming until it was no longer heard. The front door to his house was locked and his security system on as he carried the teen down the hall to the rarely used guest room.

When Law had first left the Doflamingo family, he had searched for a place where he could begin with a fresh start. And in his house hunt he had come upon this home, spacious enough though not too big, a starter home, the retailer had said. As Shaichi had noted, Law rarely had visitors and as such the room never got much use, nor too much attention. The only thing decorating the unused space was a single twin sized bed where Luffy was now tucked into.

"Rest well, Luffy-Ya." The surgeon whispered ruffling the teen's own dark hair before he made his way to the door his palm on the doorknob, pausing for a moment before deciding to leave the door open in case Luffy needed to step out of the room at night.

Continuing on to his room, a wide mouthed yawn shook his frame, reminding Law of just how tired he was. Shedding his coat Law was about to place it away before thinking better about it and hanging it on the doorknob, in any case the teen needed a clue to where he was. He didn't think the younger would need him, but who knew?

In no time Law had discarded his day clothes and slipped under the covers wearing nothing but a comfortable pair of sweatpants.

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><p>Just down the hall Luffy was tossing and turning in his borrowed bed, his previously quiet mind becoming restless, plagued by emotions he didn't want, by thoughts he refused to see.<p>

Luffy was scared he didnt know the reason behind this all consuming fear yet that didnt stop the feeling from rising and getting lodged in his throat, nor keeping it from coiling and tightening around his heart. Luffy was so scared of this invisible threat; his breaths were coming in short breathless pants, his sandaled feet pounding into the questionable floor beneath him as the darkness began to get closer, a manic laugh accompanying the sea of black matter. "Zehahahaha! You can't escape the darkness, boy!"

Luffy didn't reply, even thought a part of him urged him to stop in his tracks and face whatever demon was coming after him, to stop being a coward and fight the darkness. 'But I can't.' the thought answered that small part of him as he continued to run as far as he could from the approaching black curtain.

"No..no" the simple word was breathed out by the teen as Luffy tried to escape within his dream. He was gaining no distance from the malevolent voice as it grew louder and louder, the laugh chilling him to the bone and making his steps waver. The lanky teen continued lost his footing at that moment and tripped, the momentum placed into his running frame launching him into a tumbling fall across the floor. 'No what are you doing, get up, _get up!'_ Luffy scolded himself as he struggled to his feet. At that moment the laugh boomed around him once again, this time closer, almost as if this person was now standing before him. And with that laugh came a crippling sensation of fear, consuming him as he looked for an escape from all of the events.

"Help... Help me." his voice shook, cracking with fear as the teen called out to anyone that would listen, even though he new he was completely alone.

"Please!" the sob exploded from him and with it a wall of fire erupted from the ground, shielding him from the darkness. Luffy's dark teary eyes looked at the wall before him cautiously, distantly wondering if he would be burned to a crisp before the darkness even reached him. Maybe that was a better fate?

However, the longer he stared at the flames, the more a sense of comfort began to envelop him. Almost as if it were a warm embrace, Luffy felt safer behind the angry red flames.

"Go, Lu. I'll keep you safe." a warm voice called out to him urging him on and away from the scene.

That voice... it was so familiar to Luffy, yet no matter how much he tried he couldn't place it to a face. Oh how he longed to reach out to the new voice, to ask it the many questions he had, however, before he could even open his mouth, the darkness began to rise behind the flames, higher and higher they went reminding Luffy of what he had been told to do. And as such he began to run again, tears streaming down his face as he longed to hear the stranger once more.

"Don't go." Luffy called out startled out of his nightmare, his eyes widening only to be faced with darkness and with it came the same fear of his dream. The teen shook as his wide eyes looked around, he didn't know what he was scared of, was he always scared of the dark? Luffy didn't know but he didn't like this feeling of being scared and alone.

"Torao." the name of his only friend was croaked out as he searched for any sign that the older man was around. "Torao." he whispered softly wiping away at his tear stained face.

Climbing off the bed, Luffy took unsure steps towards the door looking back and forth across the hall until his eyes landed on the coat he had seen Torao in earlier. Releasing a breath he hadn't noticed he was holding, Luffy rushed to the other room, his eyes now adjusted to the darkness, he quickly spotted the form of his sleeping friend. Relief flooded him as he launched himself onto Torao's bed.

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><p>Law was not expecting to be jumped in his sleep. One moment he was having a peaceful dreamless sleep, and the next another's weight was being forced upon him.<p>

"What the fuck." the words rang out in surprise as Law sat up and in that same movement pulled a handgun from underneath his pillow. The silencer coming into contact with the space between Luffy's tear filled eyes.

"Luffy-ya?" Law asked after a moment his brow furrowing as his mind raced to catch up. What was going on?

Sheepishly Luffy looked away from the gun barrel. "I'm sorry, Torao, did I wake you?"

Lowering the object, Law placed it on the nightstand beside him before sighing. "You can say that. Want to tell me what you're doing?" he asked, now normally Law would have knocked the living daylights out of whoever dared to wake him, but the tears streaming down the teen's face prevented him from raising his voice.

Unfazed by the other's defensive actions, Luffy thought nothing of it as he wiped at his face again. "I had a nightmare." he confessed in a small voice still refusing to look back at the surgeon under him.

Law remained silent as he watched the teen, taking note of the slight tremors that shook his frame. The suppressed memories were plaguing his subconsciousness in one way or another. "Did you try going back to sleep, Luffy-ya?"

Shaking his head Luffy slipped off from Law's form, "I'm scared to try."

"You won't know until you try, go back to bed and try to sleep Luffy-ya."

It was the teen's turn to remain silent as he made no move to get off of Law's bed. Much to the rising annoyance of the surgeon, he was willing to look past the rude awakening, but he wanted to go back to sleep and the sooner they settled this matter, the better. About to state his thoughts, Luffy spoke up his fears once more.

"I'm scared of being alone, Torao." he whispered finally meeting his gaze to that of his one friend.

Luffy's words struck a cord deep inside the surgeon, _alone, _Law knew that word more than he would like to admit. Perhaps that is what fueled his next action, or perhaps it was the look Luffy gave him. Maybe both, but Law gave in.

"Hold on," he muttered climbing off the bed and turning on the small lamp by his bed. Lumbering across the room to his closet where he entered, rummaged a bit and soon came back to Luffy. His hands thrusting out a stuffed polar bear as he looked away slightly. "Here, his name is Bepo-ya.. he'll keep you company."

Needless to say, Luffy was thrilled by the toy holding it to his chest as he made himself comfortable on the unoccupied side of Law's bed. To which the surgeon was going to protest before sighing and deciding he was more tired than annoyed.

"Goodnight, Torao."

"Night, Luffy-ya"

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><p><strong>I hope you guys liked it ^^ Oh and before you go, <strong>_TheCaptainOfShips _**brings up a good point, the rest of the crew must appear, though I'm unsure how to put them in, did he know them before his amnesia or should he meet them along the way? Let me know what you think ^^ Thanks for reading! -Leafy**


	6. Chapter 6: Enter the Crew

**Hey guy's, chapter six is up, yay right? Anyway special thanks to those who have reviewed and helped me out with the idea ^^ I own nothing in this fic. Enjoy!**

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><p>Eight people had gathered that same night Luffy had awoken from his nightmare. And all eight had a special connection to the clueless boy with the Straw hat.<p>

In the city of Water 7, a meeting was held between those individuals as they discussed the urgent matter of their missing friend. Normally it wasn't an odd thing for their Captain to disappear for days on end without some sort of contact, but this time it was different. Luffy never and they mean_ never_ went anywhere without his beloved Straw hat that was sitting in the middle of the table absent of its owner. If the news of his brother's death wasn't enough of a clue to his going missing, then this hat was definitely the clue that drove the point home.

"Wasn't he supposed to be under your watch, how could you let this happen?!" a high pitched voice yelled from across the table as the addressed man narrowed his emerald eyes towards the woman, unfazed by the yell though extremely cautious of its owner.

"He's not a fucking kid you know, he can definitely take care of himself." the irritated man shoots back. "I just thought he was fucking safe with his brother by his side."

"Oi oi, calm down Nami it's not Zoro's fault he got lost in Punk Hazard, he's never been there before." A nervous voice spoke up trying to break the tension of the group as his arms waved about frantically trying to diffuse the escalating hostility between the two members.

"Even if the stupid Marimo had been there before, he _still_ would have gotten lost." Another voice drawled out from the side of the room before he released a puff of smoke.

"What was that you shit-cook!" came an angry cry as the teen turned his icey glare from the orange haired girl to the striking blonde that leaned against the wall, looking completely composed were it not for the line of worry that marred his handsome features.

"Oi Sanji, don't make fun of Zoro, it's not his fault he is directionally challenged, it's a serious condition." a near childish voice rose to defend the swordsman who only seemed irritated by the help received, muttering under his breath that it was not a 'condition' and he was perfectly fine.

"Oh be quiet all of you!" the orange haired girl known as Nami spoke up as she reclined against the chair she was currently sitting in. "Arguing among ourselves isn't going to get anything done, and it's definitely not going to bring Luffy back. Now Robin, could you please tell the others what you told me after we found Zoro wandering the streets."

The mentioned teen smiled softly and did as she was asked, "The word is spreading fast like wildfire actually," the dark haired girl said noticing the visible flinches of a few of their members, "in the beginning people began to say that the Surgeon of Death had come back into play, but it didn't make any sense. Ace was shot down, and not too long after his house was burned down. It's not the way the Surgeon worked, or anyone in the Donquixote family for that matter. If it had been the Surgeon…" Robin trailed off meeting the gaze of each individual.

"Yoho! Then the body wouldn't have been found." The tallest of the group finished for her, his darkly charming voice carrying an echoing sadness as a frown pulled his lips lower, the carefully applied face paint of a grinning skull following the action.

"WHAAA~ the body wouldn't have been found?!" A pair of voices rang out together as the two clung to each other each of them shaking at the thought of disappearing bodies and imagining this mystery surgeon. The image both of them conceived only making their shaking that much more intense.

"Besides, the Whitebeards and Donquixote have a SUPER pact not to touch the other." the last member of the group spoke up as he ran a comb through his eccentrically styled blue hair.

"But don't forget the Surgeon left the Family some years back, if he had done this then it wouldn't be a breach of the rules." Nami pointed out as she glared at the group before pinching the bridge of her nose.

None of this was making any sense. The Whitebeards were the biggest names underground, Donquixote was a very close second, but it wasn't answering the question of who would dare mess with them, and for what purpose.

"But w-what would anyone want with Luffy?" Usopp finally asked what was on everyone's mind as he clutched to the youngest of the team.

"It can't be for information. Luffy's too stubborn and too stupid for that purpose." Zoro mutters receiving a collective agreement from the group.

"So there aren't any leads of who did this to Ace-San?" Brook asked the other.

Robin shook her head her lovely blue gaze looked down, "I'm afraid I have been unable to find out anything about who did this, the event was kept off the papers and media so it's not a shock we heard about this until recently."

"Actually we would have known sooner if a certain Marimo hadn't taken three days to find a public phone and then four more to find his way back home." Sanji put in earning a death glare from the green haired male.

"I lost my phone on the trip there!" he growled out before adding, "And public phones are becoming extinct you Shit-cook."

"Zoro's 'conditions' aside, I think we should start at ground Zero." the orange haired girl spoke up turning all eyes in her direction.

"You can't mean we'll be going to Punk Hazard?!" Chopper exclaimed his features turning pale as his eyes widened in shock.

"I- I think I have suddenly caught cant-go-to-Punk-Hazard-disease." Usopp groaned faking a stomach ache as the rest of the group ignored the two, knowing that despite their initial fears they would do all they could for Luffy.

Franky pushed out of his chair suddenly and began flexing his arms before thrusting them into the air symmetrically as he struck a pose, exclaiming "SUPER! Then what are we waiting for."

On his side, Robin chuckled softly and looked to the rest of the group who either looked excited, cautious, or scared of their wits, but all determined to gain their Captain back. And as such it was decided, the eight of them would catch the next plane to Punk Hazard.

* * *

><p>"Torao~ How can you have so little food in your house?" Luffy complained as he rummaged through the cabinets once more, "And where the heck is all your bread?" the teen huffed.<p>

The mention of the food caused the surgeon to shiver unpleasantly behind the newspaper he was reading. "My kitchen was fully stocked. And bread is not a recommended food in anyone's diet." he deadpanned, muttering under his breath about how bread was all kinds of evil things.

"But I'm so hungry Torao, feed me please!" The teen begged as he slumped into the chair next to Law, the older of two looking over his newspaper to arc a brow. "You ate twenty pancakes, five eggs, seven slices of bacon, ten hashbrowns, a whole gallon of milk and both my orange juice cartons. Where do you even put it all?!" the Surgeon exclaimed incredulously looking over the teen's body. "I used to eat a lot when I was younger, but fuck Luffy-ya." the man shook his head folding up his newspaper and finishing his coffee.

"I can't help it I'm a growing boy!" the teen huffed before he perked. "Younger? You mean you aren't young Torao?" Luffy asked tilting his head as he hummed. "You look young to me. How old are ya?"

Unfazed by the curiosity Law stood and placed his mug in the sink. "I'm 24."

"Whaa! You don't look 24!" the teen exclaimed before a laugh broke out from him. "Ha you really are old!" he said before pausing, "Wait... how old am I?" he asked now completely sober.

'You're 17 Luffy, but your birthday isn't for another five months, on May 5th you'll be 18." Law said the fact like he had known it for a lifetime now. It was true what Shaichi and Penguin had said to him. Law was getting... or not getting, no he _was_ attached to Luffy. Law dense nor oblivious, he had noticed from the moment he had first felt the wave of guilt hit him when he had told the teen his brother was dead. And the way the teen had reacted, it had made Law want to ease that pain in Luffy, he wanted to comfort the boy. But years of inexperience in such matters had left him dumbfounded and unable to do so.

"Oh! So we're in December?" Luffy asked pulling Law out of his thoughts, his steel gaze looking at the now smiling boy. "Hey does that mean Christmas is almost here?" he asked looking around the apartment only to pout. "Torao where is all your Christmas stuff?"

Law was certainly not expecting to hear these words from the teen, who was right, Christmas was only two weeks away. Luffy was proving to be much more observant than one would have thought. Though Law wasn't too taken aback from the realization for two things.

The first being that Luffy had simply lost his memory, not his reasoning and comprehension skills, and the other was that Law had personally seen into the limited past of the teen. To say that he was impressed about what he discovered would be an accurate term.

From what he had seen, Luffy had attended public schools his elementary and middle school years while he had stayed in Dadan's Home for Children, and the grades he received were nothing to be proud of, but his test scores were astonishing to say the least. But that was where his information on the teen ended, no matter how much he tried Law was unable to get any sort of information of Luffy's High school years, it was almost as if the teen had dropped off the face of the earth after his eighth grade graduation, only to appear three years later with his dead brother at Law's hospital. And now here they were.

"Oi Torao!"Luffy yelled snapping the surgeon from him thoughts as he shook his head and refocused on the boy who gave him a warming smile. "So are we going to go find a Christmas tree?"

"Not right now Luffy-ya, remember what I told you this morning, we have to pack a few things up we'll be spending some time with the... _Family"_ the last part of his sentence had to be ground out as Law tried to keep his obvious distaste from his voice.

Luffy, however, caught his tone and once again tilted his head. "Do you guys not get along Torao?" He asked before his eyes softened and lowered. "Hey Torao, do I have family?"

Law had been dreading this question, what was he supposed to say. 'well you did until a week ago, when some nameless bastard shot and killed your brother, and now you're all alone in this world.' No Law would not tell Luffy this, not until the other was ready. Instead Law found himself giving Luffy a warm smile while ruffling his raven tresses. "Sure you do, Bepo-ya and I are your family, no?"

To which the teen brightened and launched himself out of his chair and caught Law in the tightest hugs he had ever received. "Shishishi well I know that now."

"Good, now c'mon help me pack a bag." Law managed to say as he was loosing his breath.

That same day, only the necessary clothes and other items were packed and placed in the trunk of Law's Model S.

"We'll get you more clothes when we get to Dressrosa. You got Bepo-ya right?" Law asked as he looked back to his home. Of course he didn't want to leave it, and he wouldn't entirely, for the time being he was simply going to be following one of the 'conditions' the stupid Flamingo had made him agree to.

_"Spend the holidays with the Family and I'll grant you your favor, Law" _the man had said the day prior when he had called him.

"Yup! So Torao, does this mean we will be spending Christmas with your family? What about your job?"

"We'll actually be there until next year... I'll be going into work later, I already called Shaichi to let him know, we just have to drop off these things and get the hell out of there without being noticed." Law grumbled and began their little road trip to Dressrosa, the next city over. 'At least it's around the same mileage from the mansion to the Hospital.' the Surgeon thought as he turned the radio on and allowed Luffy to change the station so long as he didn't mess with the screen so much.

The ride took no more than two hours, and it would have been less if the teen hadn't gotten hungry again and made Law stop at the nearest restaurant. Passing through the gates, Law knew he was going to hate the next three weeks. His steel gray eyes took in the sight of his home from five years ago. It hadn't changed much, the same marble like appearance on the outside, the acres of lush green grass and every single flower imaginable beautifully decorated the landscape.

"Woah! Torao is there where your family lives?! It's awesome!" the teen exclaimed beside him as his eyes shone as they had the night before, completely mesmerized by the sight before him.

Sighing the surgeon hunched his shoulders slightly, the only other sign other than his whitening knuckles on the wheel, that he was not looking forward to this 'reunion'. "I'll keep the engine running, you will wait for me here while I drop off the things. Don't leave the car Luffy-ya, I hope to spend as little time here as physically possible. luckily the Hospital gets busy on the holidays." Law grumbled missing the pout and puzzled look the teen had given him.

Placing the car in park, Law slipped out of the car, quickly scanning the area while he got the two duffel bags from the trunk. Taking a calming breath, he took a step forward and froze. "Law! Hey so the rumors are true!" a woman dressed as a maid called out as she hopped out of the second floor window and steadily landed before Law her arms open wide as she had hoped for an embrace. Though Law was having none of that, side stepping her attempt he growled under his breath. "Cut it out Baby5"

Pouting the woman sighed crossing her arms under her breasts. "You won't even hug me after five years Law, so mean."

Rolling his eyes Law huffed out a breath. "I don't have time for this, is Doflamingo around?"

"They're all gone, something about cleansing the ranks down below." the dark haired woman said shrugging her shoulders.

"So you are playing house sitter," Law noted knowing Doflamingo most likely told her how much he _needed_ her to look after the mansion while he was away, and knowing Baby5 she would have been more than happy to do so. Not to mention she was also very capable handling the task all by herself, out of the entire Family, it was she who knew the most about firearms.

"Hey, Baby do me a favor and take these to the room I will be using, I have to get to the hospital. Don't stay up for me." he said already handing the two bags to the stunned woman who had developed a small blush muttering under her breath about how she was needed.

Just as he was about to return to his car, a large shadow rose to overshadow him from behind. "Law~ so good to see my favorite Godson has arrived for the holidays, are you going already? You just got here." the voice scolded as the blonde approached.

'Motherfucker...' was the single thought that flew through Law's mind as he faced the manic smile of Doflamingo.

* * *

><p>"Oi Nami, do we even know where Ace's house was?" Usopp called from his spot at the back of the rented van.<p>

"It can't be that hard to find, how many buildings burn down in one city alone?" the orange haired girl replied keeping her eyes on the road.

"You'd be surprised how many kitchen fires tend to happen on one day alone." Robin supplied from the passenger seat as she stared at the tablet she help within her hands, a small frown coming to her features.

"Can we please not talk about fires, it makes my skin crawl. That is, it would if I had any skin, Yohohoho!" Brook laughed from the back seat next to Usopp.

Gaining a frown from the blonde haired cook as he looked over his seat from behind Nami. "Oi Brook, you do realize you have skin right? Halloween ended months ago."

"So he likes to pretend to be a skeleton, you shit-cook, you have a problem with that?" Zoro called out a seat away from Sanji sitting behind Robin and in front of Usopp.

"No one was talking to you you stupid Marimo!" Sanji yelled glaring at the green haired man only one seat away.

"But Zoro has a point Sanji, Brook is going through a phase." Chopper said trying to calm both of the two teens, immediately regretting choosing the space in between them.

Franky laughed at the familiar scene. "I think Brook just has a SUPER imagination." the bulky teen commented as Zoro and Sanji began to reach for the other ignoring the fruitless attempts of Chopper to keep them apart.

While all this was transpiring Nami began to grow more and more irritated. "If you two don't quit that right now I will stop this car and leave you on the middle of the street!"

"HAIIII NAMI-SWAAAAN" The blonde called out immediately ending his feud with the green haired teen who grumbled under his breath about a certain 'ero-cook'.

After that all that could be heard through the ride to Punk Hazard was the sound of Brook playing the violin he had brought along, there wasn't much room to play in, but he made it work.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey guys! This was my first time writing for so many characters at once, I think I kept them moderately in character, I'll keep working on that. Anyway, hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading!~ -Until next time! -Leafy<strong>


	7. Chapter 7: Meet the Family

**Disclaimer: I own Nothing in the fic. Enjoy! ^^~**

* * *

><p>Law was beyond furious. He was livid.<p>

In the short five minutes that Law had spent in the presence of Doflamingo, the deranged man had the audacity to call Heart Community Hospital to speak with the Head Director to inform him that Law was to be on a Holiday vacation. Law had heard the incredulous shout of the man on the phone and inwardly cringed, Law was one of the best doctors at the hospital and even he was wary of Dr. Hogback. The man's whole demeanor was unnerving to say the least, and the fascination he had with corpses was down right creepy. Law was certain that Dr. Hogback wouldn't have agreed at least not in this lifetime, and to his absolute horror, the blonde did something that completely changed the other's mind.

"Of course I won't leave you without a surgeon, Dr, Hogback, how careless of me would that be? No, I'm simply letting you know that my dearest Godson will be taking a Vacation and in his place, a man by the name of Crocus will be filling in for him." The blonde stated rather dismissively as he calmed the prestigious doctor.

"Who the fuck do you think you are deciding this for me!" the surgeon exploded as soon as the call was ended.

To which a mock hurt expression was lit on Doflamingo's features. "How your words wound me, Law. If you must know I am doing this for your own good." the tall man stated, though the extremely large grin on his face told a different story. "You work too hard for your own good Law, you should be thanking me. Oh~ and think of all the fun we'll have!"

Law's face was becoming darker with each passing second, if looks could kill. Doflamingo would have been dead long before any of this had a chance to happen and Law was fairly certain he would have been better off.

"Look at you, speechless at my gratitude, well there is no need to thank me. Now get your jailbait out of the car and lets get ready for tonight!" Doflamingo spoke up again waving to the confused boy within Law's car.

Law was lost in his dark thoughts of painfully killing Doflamingo, perhaps disembowelment, no that wasn't good enough, maybe bleeding him dry? No that wouldn't work either, removing his limbs, one small appendage at a time? Law liked that one, and what a sight it was! However, the mention of the younger male brought him out of his dark fantasies to glare once again at his 'Godfather'. "Don't you wave to him. He doesn't need to be acquaintanced with you!" Law snapped irritatingly and marched away from the blonde ending the conversation and thus complying to the man's wishes, though this he would never say out loud.

With each step law took to his car, he tried his hardest to calm his nerves. How he was going to survive the next three weeks was beyond him. He was sure he would have a heart failure before then.

Sighing he pulled the car door open and caught the teen's waving wrist in his palm. The previously grinning boy looked up at Law questioningly. "I was just saying 'hi' to you're friend." the boy said thinking nothing of the action.

Law had to work hard not to grimace more at the words, releasing Luffy's hand he growled out. "He isn't my friend. And he shouldn't be your's Luffy-ya."

The dark haired teen only looked more confused as he tilted his head slightly, his brows furrowing. "But Torao, if he isn't your friend then what are we doing here?"

Law knew Luffy deserved some sort of explanation, especially of the way he was behaving towards the blonde. But he didn't want to talk about Doflamingo. Despite himself Law found himself answering the question, albeit reluctantly. "I didn't lie when I said this was where I grew up, mostly. And the pink Flamingo looking man, is Doflamingo... he and his family took me in. But I mean it when I say not to be his friend Luffy-ya. That man is nuts." Law said as reassuring as he could while still being vague about his past.

His past belonged no where else but in the past.

Luffy looked pensive with the information that was given, and the surgeon knew the other had no reason to trust him, amnesia or not, but then why was Law experiencing... dread? Did he not want to loose the younger's absolute trust, the very same trust that he was given without question the moment the small raven haired boy woke up?

As Law was running this new thought in his mind, he had failed to see the boy's features soften as he had deemed Law trustworthy once more. "Shishishi. Don't look so sad, Torao. I believe you, my brain might not be 100% either but even I think all those pink feathers Mingo wears are strange." Luffy said with a laugh and hopping out of the car.

"Oi Torao, a big house like this just has to have lots and lots of meat right?" the teen said obviously salivating with the thought. Making the surgeon roll his eyes, unable to suppress a relieved chuckle. "I'm sure there's plenty in this house, Luffy-ya. But we have to wait until dinner, Jora-ya will kill us if we don't eat as a 'family'."

At this news the teen's gaze fell, "But Torao~ I'm hungry now."

"You just ate on the way here."

"I know, but my stomach needs more meat!" Luffy huffed and Law ruffled the raven tresses, a habit he was failing to see was becoming more and more common. "We'll just have to distract you until then, want a tour of the place while the rest of them are out?"

Unable to keep his pout up, Luffy's wide smile broke through. "Yosh! Let's go!" and with that he rushed towards the mansion.

* * *

><p>Luffy was amazed! the house Torao had lived in was amazing! it was SUPER! ... wait that wasn't his voice. A frown tugged at the corners of Luffy's mouth as he pondered the invading quote in his mind. If it wasn't his voice, then who's was it? And what was it doing hanging around in his mind?<p>

Before Luffy could think farther on the subject he was pulled out of his thoughts by Torao. "And this is the rec room." the older man said opening the double doors wide and earning a gasp from the teen. "No way!" Luffy exclaimed and sped into the arcade. The place was dimly illuminated, thought that could be quickly overlooked by all the blinking screens of all the games around. Luffy remembered next to none of the games, thought that didn't stop him from immediately finding a large screened television with a console and wireless controllers. "Oi Torao! Look this one is called 'Pirate King'! It sounds so cool!"

So engrossed was he in beginning the game he barely heard Torao chuckle under his breath as he took a seat on the second beanbag chair, explaining that Mingo kept the games not only for his own entertainment, but also for the children he took into his home and that he would meet them eventually.

The hours seemed to fly by without either of them knowing, both of them engrossed in their current game of _Pirate King_ in which Luffy was on a quest with his avatar defeating all sorts of enemies, from monsters to marines and even other pirates in search of the World's greatest treasure, The One Piece. Eventually coming to parts where he reached levels where the boss Captains would appear. "This Crocodile guy is really getting on my nerves!" the teen huffed as he dodged another attack from the approaching enemy, now on his third attempt of the level.

Behind him, watching in amusement Torao laughed. "C'mon Luffy-ya, he isn't that hard you just have to get the water power up like I showed you."

"I'm trying!" Luffy retorted as he narrowed his gaze on the screen, his brow furrowed in concentration while his thumbs moved swiftly on the joy stick and buttons on the controller, his body leaning closer to the screen as he was so close to getting the mentioned power up. "C'mon, c'mon!" the teen chanted pushing the last buttons and capturing the power up. "YOSH, I GOT IT!" he cheered his arms shooting upwards as he reveled in the moment of his victory.

"Shishishi, and now for Crocy." Luffy grinned turning his avatar back around and racing off to the leveled boss.

"You do that, I have to go to the bathroom real quick Luffy-ya." Torao stated, earning a dismissive nod from the teen, mutting a "Yeah, sure."

The fight began and Luffy attacked and countered when he could his excitement growing more and more with each hit he managed to get, and each time one of Crocodile's three lives vanished. One more combo hit and he would win! Hell yes! Luffy leaned further towards the screen. "Almost!" the teen exclaimed as he was about to push the last button to his fisnishing move before the controller vanished from his hands. "Wha-"

"I said to stop playing my game!" a blonde complained, though the words were lost on the raven haired teen as he watched with great dismay as his avatar was pounded into the ground and defeated... again.

"Why'd you do that for!" Luffy cried out whirling to the new presence.

"Because it's mine, and who the fuck are you, another stray the young master brought in?" the blonde asked with a disapproving look, as he eyed Luffy up and down.

Luffy worked hard not to let the anger in him explode as he eyes the other teen, he was slightly shorter than himself with long shoulder length blonde hair, pink piercings, and was everyone in this family obsessed with strange clothing? The kid's clothes were anything but child friendly, the other teen wore an odd looking hat with bull like horns protruding from either side of his head, a long sleeved turtle neck with a giraffe like pattern and shorts too tight around his, well area. And how the heck had this guy managed to stand much less walk in those heels?!

Luffy was becoming more uncomfortable than upset now, though the latter feeling still remained. He felt his mouth form into a pout as he stared at the weirdly dressed teen who was looking more irritated by the second not entirely understanding the situation, and who was the young master?

"I asked you a question, or are you too stupid to understand?" the blonde sneered.

"Dellinger-ya. I see you're still a brat." a low growl resounded behind Luffy, who immediately felt relief flood him as Torao's voice reached him. "Torao~ you're back!" Luffy found himself exclaiming as he moved back to stand alongside Torao and away from the glare of the blonde.

"Well if it isn't Trafalgar Law, the young master wasn't joking when he said you had returned to the Family. But who's the stupid kid?" the blonde asked once again, the hostility in his glare only becoming more prominent.

'Delly? Is that his name?' Luffy wondered, vaguely wondering why none of them had any normal easy to remember names? Like Zoro, Zoro was an easy name to remember. But wait.. does Luffy know a Zoro?

Luffy didn't know and all this thinking was making his head hurt.

Snatching the game controller out of the kid's hands Torao confiscated it. "Let me make this clear Dellinger-ya, and I will not repeat myself to you again. We are here because of that bird brains stupid whims, but that does not mean we will sit back and take _anyone's_ shit. You are to stay clear of Luffy-ya's path, and leave him the fuck alone. Should I find out you so much as looked at him the wrong way, you better watch your back." the older man said matter-a-factly as if he was stating the truest words.

Luffy himself felt a slight shiver creep up his spine, the tone in Law's voice and the threat were something he wasn't used to hearing in the surgeon. Torao had sounded very dangerous, and just what did he intend to do to the boy? It was then that the fact he had known the man for no more than two days became very clear to Luffy. Just how much did he really know about Torao?

'But he has been nothing but kind towards you, Luffy.' his mind reasoned, 'And the threat he is making is on your behalf. That jerk had it coming.' the voice continued.

Again Luffy felt his head hurting with the strain he was putting it through. Torao was a good guy, he just knew it despite this small fault, Luffy told himself, law is good, he's my friend, he's family. With that new thought in his mind, Luffy smiled again focusing back on the scene where Delly had stomped off to who knows where, and Torao gently ruffling the mop of raven hair on his head again, the action bringing a comforting warmth to the teen.

"I'm sorry I left you alone Luffy-ya, don't pay attention to him, he just needs to learn the world doesn't submit to him as Doflamingo made him believe." Torao said removing his hand and letting out a sigh as he looked to his wrist for the time. "We're about to meet the rest of the family... let me warn you, they are quite a group, but don't worry Luffy-ya I won't let any of them bother you." he promised and gently took his wrist, leading Luffy towards the dining area.

Arriving, Luffy hadn't expected to see this many people all gathered in one table, and though he had expected them all to be strangely clothed, he was still not prepared for Torao's eccentric family. His head spun just watching them all.

The chatter that had kept the room lively stopped as soon as Torao and Luffy stepped into the room. The man to break the sudden silence, was of course Mingo.

"Law~ you remembered the exact time we have dinner! Oh I'm so proud of my Godson!" the tall blonde praised as Torao simply grunted in response. "Come, come I saved you and Jailbait a seat." the flamboyant man called pointing to the seats directly to his right, the first one of course meant for Torao while the next one was for him? Was he 'Jailbait?' Luffy didn't know what to think of the nickname, but decided to roll with it.

Luffy soon found himself sitting in between Torao and a small girl with turquoise hair and large round blue eyes that looked up to him curiously. Though she said nothing while she stuffed grape after grape into her mouth. Tilting his head, Luffy stared back at her, coal eyes meeting her large blue ones as the two had a staring contest which was not interrupted by the sound of Mingo clearing his throat and making a light sniffling noise.

"After five long years our family is complete once again, and for that, we feast!" the man announced.

'Feast' that single word broke Luffy's stare and brought him immediately to attention, his head turning in every way possible. "YOSH WHERE'S THE MEAT?!" the teen exclaimed earning a variety of glances thrown his way, though many quickly looked away after a glare from Torao. A look that clearly said 'Leave him or I'll kill you.'

"What makes him so special." Luffy heard Delly mutter across the table. However, at this time he couldn't find it in himself to care, not with the approaching meat that was being carried by the staff followed by a portly old woman with double colored hair, half of it yellow and the other a red orange.

"So Law... How have you been?" another voice belonging to a nice looking lady with dark brown eyes and long dark brown hair accessorized with a blood red rose spoke up in an attempt to break the atmosphere that seemed to crack with the tension their arrival had brought.

"Fine." Torao gruffed out, already seeming bored of the scene before him.

"Well I for one am wonderinG who the lad with him is." a bald old man spoke up while making a "G" letter with his palms.

Beside him a stout man with the worst hygiene Luffy had ever seen chuckled. "Oi, oi Lao G, do you think he's Law's friend?" he asked making one wonder if his mind was as messed up as his appearance.

"Of course he's his friend Trebol, otherwise he would be here!" another man with a long brown hair and two magenta stripes running vertically down on each side of his face chided the snot covered man across from him.

His observations were then mockingly praised by a man with yet another weird hairstyle, were those meant to be helicopter blades? "Wow Diamante, you're so smart." the man snickered, making the aforementioned Diamante laugh and turn down the compliment. "Oh stop Buffalo I'm no such thing."

Beside him a man with a completely pale complexion laughed. "You're right Diamante you are no where near smart! I on the other hand." the man stated pointing to himself proudly. "Am the smartest out of all of you, isn't that right Monet?"

The named girl gave an exasperated sigh and fixed the glasses on the bridge of her nose. "Sure you are, Caesar."

Next to her a burly blonde man with a variety of scars running across his face laughed. "Well that sounded convincing Monet, what he doesn't pay you enough to actually mean it now?"

"Whether he does or not, I'm sure my salary far exceeds your's Bellamy." the green haired woman retorted.

By this time Luffy had already piled up his plate contently eating as he watched the banter going on around him.

"Quite the appetite he has, you sure know how to pick them, Law." A sudden drawl brought Luffy to look across the table to the man that was sitting across from Torao, the man he supposed, looked more normal than most of the ones who were at the table, even with the lightning bolts imprinted in his beard.

"You're one to talk, Vergo-_san._" Torao growled under his breath as he ate the small portion he had on his plate.

Down the table a man who had yet to speak chewed on his yellow pacifier, surrounding him were three scantly clad women, who Luffy had guessed were here for him and not the food. Breaking his silence the man stated, "A strong man is not afraid to let his hunger run rampant." to which the girls around him squealed with joy, "Oh~ Señor, so hard boiled!~"

Next to him another blonde haired man, with a matching bushy beard laughed and nudged the maid lady from earlier that day. "Hey Baby5 have_ you_ a date for this year's Christmas party?" he teased the blushing lady who shook her head as she cradled her cheeks. "I haven't found him yet, but I will Machvise just you wait. I will find the man who needs me the most!" she declared earning a laugh from the man.

The dinner continued on with a lighter atmosphere as Luffy watched each member interacting with one another and they came to accept him in some of their discussions, though he didn't bother commenting too much as he was much more interested in getting a hold of all the meat he possibly could. As long as he had meat, and Torao next to him, Luffy decided, the family wasn't so bad, though he was curious how Torao knew this bunch.

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><p><strong>AN: Hey guy's just want to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving with the Donquixote Family! I think I included all the noticeable characters. Please excuse any OOC-ness with them, I lost track of just how many people I wrote for. Thanks for reading and for the reviews on the last chapter you guy's are awesome! Once again Happy Turkey Day! - Leafy**


	8. Chapter 8: The Surgeon Fell

**Hey Guys, so quick disclaimer, I won nothing in this fic, though I would love to get one of those Bepo teddys.**

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><p><em>Two weeks!<em> It has been two weeks since the Straw Hat Crew had first arrived at Punk Hazard and combed the city thoroughly. Now they were in a rented room at an inn in the neighboring city of Dressrosa and they were still no closer to having any sort of clue to Luffy's whereabouts.

"How is this even possible!" the green haired teen growled pounding his clenched fist against the solid oak table that immediately buckled under the pressure hitting the floor, two of its four legs splintering as they broke off.

Across him, Sanji clucked his tongue standing beside an open window as to let the cigar smoke slip out of the room. "Shitty emotional moss head." he muttered, though the rest of the crew knew that he too was ready to stomp on the next unlucky thing that caught his attention.

"Oi Zoro! We're not thrilled by the progress either, but it doesn't help us to get all worked up and beat up furniture." Chopper scolded immediately fussing over the possibility of Zoro damaging a bone as he studied the hand.

"He has a point though, doctor-san." Robin supplied as she tapped away at her tablet. "In the time that we have been in Punk Hazard, we haven't had a single lead. All the ones we get pointed towards have either disappeared... or worse. Multiple deaths and disappearances have occurred in this month alone, more than this city is used to in the span of a six-month period."

"M-multiple!?" Usopp cried out from the couch seat he was occupying. "Th-then why hasn't it been on the news?!"

"For the same reason Ace's death hasn't been publicized." Nami spoke up biting down on her thumb nail gathering everyone's attention. "I know I have no right to say any of this, but Luffy and Ace were both street urchins growing up from what he told us. And Ace wasn't exactly liked by the town he grew up in, then when he left Luffy to join the Whitebeards, that's when he made a name for himself a name that was widely known in the underworld. But here, to the mundane people of this city, Ace was just another guy. Robin, are any of those fallen men a big figure in this city?"

"None." the raven haired girl noted, she of course had already ran this theory through her head. "All of those missing and gone were low profiled people, unnoticeables ... and exactly the same people who run the communication in the Underworld."

"Yoho! You means The Billions?" Brook spoke up from his spot against the wall, precariously leaning against it at an exactly 45 degree angle, something the odd man enjoyed to do every now and then.

"But to completely wipe out the Billions, it's a SUPER intense task." Franky noted receiving a collective nod from the gathered group.

"And who is the only Warlord in the area able to accomplish such a feat. To be able to silence hundreds of Billions from speaking ill against them." Nami stated quietly, though with the stark quietness of the room, the sentence might as well have been shouted for they all heard it clearly.

"The Family." Zoro breathed out and began for the door before a small hand reached out to clutch onto his arm.

"Zoro wait! You can't go out there in the dark! Especially not against The Family! Sanji tell him!" Chopper cried out desperately trying to keep the swordsman at bay though failing miserably as his small form was essentially being dragged along with the green haired man.

Releasing a puff of smoke the blonde cook sighed, the nicotine was doing nothing to ease the irritation within him. Silently he stalked after the swordsman, the look on his face causing Chopper to release Zoro immediately as Sanji took hold of the back of Zoro's shirt and whirled him around to face him.

Blazing emerald eyes met equally smoldering blue ones as Sanji clamped a hand on the swordsman's shoulder "Would you calm the fuck down you stupid Marimo, you're scaring Chopper!" the blonde snapped his voice growing louder as he continued. "We get it! You know we do. No one cares about Luffy more than we do, but do you honestly think that blindly barging out there into enemy territory will help us get Luffy back! We're no good to him dead Marimo." the last of his sentence spoken in a harsh whisper.

"Fucking dartboard brow, don't touch me." Zoro growled as he slapped the hand from his shoulder. And though he was stopped for now, everyone in the room knew that it was only a matter of time before the green haired man lost his hold of the raging beast within him again.

But Sanji had a point, even if he hated to admit it.

They all knew very well how much the green haired man cared for their Captain, enough that Zoro would risk his life without question for Luffy, Hell, every single one of them would, but if they had their information wrong and The Family wasn't behind this tragedy... then their efforts would have been for naught.

"Beside's we're all spit-balling here, aren't we?" Usopp asked hoping to diffuse some of the tension in the small room while voicing their thoughts. "We don't know for sure if The Family is really behind this entire mess, for all we know they were being paid off by whoever did this, a bribe of some sort." the sniper supplied.

"Yeah, The Family isn't known to be picky about their contracts." the orangette agreed once again holding her thumb nail between her teeth.

"Well, there's only one person who can ease our troubled minds now." Robin said after a short pause, looking up from her tablet she had been typing in since the conversation began.

"Luckily for us, The Family isn't as secretive with their status as others. Most everyone in Dressrosa knows of Doflamingo Donquixote's association to 'other' matters, they believe it has kept their streets as violence free as possible. In the public's point of view, The Family is the greatest thing that has happened in the last few decades. But because of this, we know just who we need to target." the raven haired woman explained as she showed them the chart she had been working on.

Upon the screen the group could all see the members of The Donqioxote Family. An quick chart displayed both names and pictures of those in the family. Including its former members.

"That's my smart Robin-Chwan, where would we be without you!" Sanji cheered as he floated over to the placidly smiling teen.

"Now all we need to do is choose one Robin-san?" Brook asked joining the group that was beginning to huddle around the small tablet.

Nami beside them hummed, "Do we have any information of their structure, which one would be the most likely to crack?"

"Who the fuck cares who they are, I say grab the first one we can." Zoro gruffed out as his eyes committed all of the faces to memory.

"It's a dangerous game we're about to play." Sanji muttered next to Zoro taking the last drag out of the cigarette. "Zoro, Fanky, Usopp and I will go and scout the place. Chopper and Brook I am entrusting my precious Nami-swan and Robin-chawn to you." the cook said before receiving a choked noise from the sniper and one of relief from Chopper.

"Ahhh Sanji! I think my can't-join-you-on-a-dangerous-mission disease is acting up again." Usopp moaned clutching his stomach.

Next to him Franky slapped his back firmly. "Not to worry Usopp bro, tonight's just the steak out and we need your SUPER eyesight. Besides I have a feeling this will turn out to be our big break." the bluenette encouraged managing to calm his long nosed friend, who only looked mildly sick now.

With his right palm on the hilt of his most trusted blade, Wado Ichimonji, Zoro lead the way out into the dark night.

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><p>Two weeks had passed since their initial arrival at the mansion and Law was still breathing.<p>

But he could no longer tolerate it, for the past fourteen days Law had been restricted to the many walls of the mansion and had been constantly pestered by not only the stupid bird brain but also by the many different entities of the household. One would think that with this much space and their ability to _leave_ the property then he would have been left alone; but that was not the case.

This arrangement, however, had been one of the other 'conditions' Doflamingo had sprung up on Law, he and the raven haired teen were to be confined to the mansion, unable to step foot outside of the property as long as the 'cleaning' took place.

'The task I set for the stupid bird brain should be all done and over with right?' Law thought to himself as he leaned back further on the leather recliner.

Surely the Billions were no longer a problem, the surgeon wondered as he tilted a wine of glass against his lips. The sweet liquor quickly coating his tongue and immediately his throat thereafter as he sighed.

At the moment he was currently in the room both he and Luffy occupied, with the younger rested in the large bed as he slept the night away, the white stuffed bear clutched to his chest.

A soft smile graced the Surgeon's features without his knowing as he watched the teen in peaceful slumber.

The first night he had received the news of their accommodations, Law didn't know whether to feel relieved that he would have a constant watch over the other or to wipe the ridiculous look off Doflamingo's face as the older had a smug and knowing look on his face.

"It's not like _that._" Law had growled that night. And constantly for the next few days to the others of the house, beating it into their minds if needed until The Family decided that Law was simply in denial, but for their sake they let the subject drop whenever the Surgeon was in the room.

Normally Law would have already joined Luffy on the bed too, but lately he couldn't help but notice that the boundary they had kept between them was becoming breached. When Law had first slept in the same bed with Luffy, they both agreed they would sleep on opposite ends of the bed since neither of them wanted to sleep on the recliner chair in the room. But, the past three nights Law had woken to find the teen cuddling against him, Luffy's arms curled around Law's torso instead of holding Bepo, and his head resting comfortably against his chest, where his heart had then proceeded to beat wildly until he managed to calm it down.

The act itself wasn't unpleasant, it was actually soothing for Luffy if the goofy smile the other wore was any indication, and if Law stopped lying to himself, then he would admit that he too liked the feeling of warmth and affection that came with the hold the teen.

But Law would _not_ entertain this thought, he refused to give it any attention. However, the more Law tried to push these thoughts away, the more they came back with full force. These thoughts were becoming more and more constant in his mind.

Law didn't know when he had first began to notice Luffy, well actually _notice_ him, not as a patient but as a person. The longer Law had studied the younger male, the more he noticed that the other was actually adorable. Everything about Luffy was, in short, alluring. From his large innocent coal eyes, his silken raven hair which Law was only now noticing he loved to caress, even the small scar under his left eye did nothing to deter the charm he seemed to possess, the small scar even added to his cuteness whenever he sent one of his wide grins his way. That smile... a smile that not only lit up the teen's face but also any room that he happened to be occupying, it called out to Law in no way he ever thought anything could. Law found himself admiring that smile and wanting to find ways of bringing it to Luffy's face and maintaining it there.

In these last few weeks, Law had fallen for Luffy, even if he refused to acknowledge it.

Law took another sip of the drink only to notice, not for the first time mind you, that he was smiling softly as he looked to the younger boy. That thought alone made the rest in his mind come to a skidding stop.

'Just what are you thinking Law!' he internally scolded himself, turning his gaze away to anything that was not Luffy.

He didn't know what was causing these sudden feelings, and the need to be even closer to the teen. All of this had begun as nothing more than a business thing. Luffy's adoptive brother died, and he had to deliver a message to the deceased's brother, he had to tell Luffy that he loved him... Wait what?! No! He had to tell Luffy that _Ace_ loved him.

Law sighed bringing the glass to his lips once more only to find it completely empty.

"Great..." he muttered setting the glass aside and contemplated getting more wine before dismissing the idea. Law didn't want to drink too much, he preferred to have his wits about him. No need to do anything foolish, especially not in this house.

He was also getting tired, but he also didn't want to allow himself to go to the bed the teen slept in, he didn't wan't to indulge in the innocent act of cuddling the teen, for even if it was just an act of comfort for the other, for him, he didn't know what they were all he knew was that Luffy was not in his right state of mind and that he was experiencing some sort of... over attachment to the teen and he should not be feeling that.

"Maybe I really do need to go out." Law muttered standing from the seat and heading to the door, looking back for a moment to make sure Luffy really was fine and fast asleep.

Once satisfied, Law closed the door, locking it as he did so, still not trusting the other members of the house with his charge.

During the last few weeks, Law had obediently remained under the roof of this mad house, but tonight he needed to get his mind cleared, if only for a few hours. Luffy would be fine until then, he reassured himself as he forced himself to keep walking away from their room.

In the earlier years that Law had lived in the mansion, he had thoroughly discovered the in's and out's of the place, and there was no exit he didn't known about. As Law proceeded to sneak out of the house, he couldn't help but remember an involuntary conversation he had had with Shaichi and Penguin before the arrival of Luffy in his life.

_Penguin and Shaichi had, after much persuading, managed to detach Law from his massive pile of paperwork and took him out to what they called a 'treat'. When in reality it was just a local bar, where the two idiots then bombarded Law with questions he preferred remained unasked._

_"Damn Law it's been over a year since Kid. When will you get back in the game?" the red head to his right asked as he looked around the place. "Look, that guy looks available." he said pointing to a brunette Law didn't care to look twice at._

_"Not interested." the surgeon muttered and took a sip of his glass, the tequila burning on its way down, but satisfying nonetheless._

_"Really, I thought you preferred brunettes." Shiachi murmured before looking around once again. "That's why it was odd at first when we met Kid, that was one seriously intense hairstyle."_

_"It was a phase." Law said before he could stop himself. __Luckily the two didn't push on that subject._

_"C'mon Law it's about time you got back out there and date again." Penguin encouraged from his other side as he drank his glass of gin__._

_Law said nothing as an arm looped around his shoulders and Shaichi leaned against him. "We saw how hard you took it back then Law, you were a real mess and we've let you grieve it out. But now we have no excuse not to bug you, so what do you say, hm?" the red head asked raising his eyebrows in Law's direction._

_Shrugging off his arm Law sighed finishing his drink. "I see you two still fail to remember _I _left_ him_." he grumbled "and I was not a mess!"_

_Both Penguin and Shaichi 'tsk'd' at his tone disregarding Law and looking at each other from either side of him. "Sounds like sexual frustration to me, don't you think so Shaichi?"_

_Where the one in question nodded, "If I didn't know any better, and I do it's definitely looking for a way to let loose." the other said with the lightest bit of a snicker. "Face it Law, you need to get laid."_

_Needless to say the rest of the night was spent with the two pointing out potential partners for Law, and he looking for a possible way out of that situation._

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><p>Night time was when Luffy's mind was most active, small snippets of his forgotten memories threatened to resurface in random spurts that caused the teen to shift under the covers of the bed. In that time his eyes wildly fluttered under closed lids while his arms instinctively searched for Torao, his one source of comfort, only to come out empty handed.<p>

If Torao had remained but a few more minutes in the room, he would have witnessed Luffy's night terror.

Luffy didn't know where he was, but it looked strangely familiar, it was a house, but who's? It was obviously a living room but not one of the few he had seen. 'Where am I?' he wondered as he tried to make out the faces of the portraits around him, but none became clear to him no matter how much he tried.

_"Luffy!"_ the name erupted in his mind causing his dream-self to turn in the general direction. The voice was deep, obviously a man's and though it was extremely familiar, Luffy didn't know who's it was but he knew that voice was special.

_"Luffy!" _his name rang out again, this time by a girl, if Luffy could have placed a color on that particular voice it would be orange.

_"Luffy!" _the next voice was also a deep male's voice, and though Luffy didn't know who's it was he distinctly associated that voice with meat.

_"Luuufffy!"_ This one was screeched by not one but two voices, one high pitched but still distinctly male along with a partner who was also a high pitched boy but much younger, barely on the verge of becoming a teen one could guess.

_"Captain-San."_ the next disembodied call was also a woman, though she sounded more calm than the earlier voice and definitely not a orange color, more like a purple.

"Who's the Captain... Why are you calling me?" Luffy called out turning in every direction as more voices made their selves known.

"_Luffy!" _Luffy recognized this voice as the one that had invaded his mind earlier during his stay, it was the SUPER voice.

_"Yoho! Luffy-San."_ the last voice called out slightly chilling him but familiar all the same. All these voices tugged at different corner's of Luffy's mind begging to be remembered.

_"Why do you forget us Luffy?"_ the voices asked in perfect yet eerie unison. _"Why Luffy."_ they called out from all around him. _"Do we not matter to you anymore?" _they asked as a pitch black shadow began to envelop the scene.

The voices were becoming louder, blending into a chilling eight-toned voice. _"Luffy! Luffy! LUFFY."_

His name was becoming a ghostly chant as it became louder and louder, surrounding Luffy as he turned back and forth, where were the voices coming from?!

_"Why Luffy?"_ they asked again, was that anger? Sorrow? Despair?

Luffy didn't know just as he didn't know if his answer would appease the voices. "I don't know. I didn't mean to!" he called out though his cries were lost in the swirl of demanding voices.

"I... I do care about you!" Luffy cried out looking around blindly at the enclosing darkness, fear beginning to steadily rise as he was beginning to realize that even with these other voices he was completely alone.

_"LIAR" _the voices bellowed and the darkness swallowed him.

"I didn't mean to!" Luffy cried out blinking past the tears as he began to register his surroundings. He was back in the bed he had slept in, he was in the mansion, he was safe... but where was Torao?

Panic bubbled up in Luffy as he sat up clutching Bepo back to his chest as he scooted back onto the headboard, his shaking hand turning on the bedside lamp as he swiped away at his tear streaked face. "Torao." he called out softly, waiting patiently for an answer.

"Torao?" he called again slightly louder, and again received only silence.

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><p>Oblivious to the event's back in the mansion, Law had successfully managed to sneak past all of Doflamingo's "defenses" and was currently walking along the streets of Dressrosa.<p>

His walk lead him in the direction of a nearly deserted park. Entirely lost in forbidden thoughts of the teen, Law failed to notice the tail he had managed to get upon leaving the Donquixote property.

The high pitched noise of a projectile cutting though the wind was the only warning that snapped Law out of his thoughts, though he had noticed it too late. A needle was embedded to his neck. A drug, he knew.

He didn't even have time to kick himself mentally for such a rookie mistake as his vision began to blur, the edges darkening.

Two pairs of hands caught his arms as they were looped around two shoulders. Law would look like the drunk friend of these two to any normal person, no one would ever suspect he was just captured.

The last thing Law saw before blacking out, were three swords.

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><p><strong>And on that note. Thank you guy's for reading ^^ and to all of those who have favorite-d, followed and reviewed, you are SUPER awesome. Let me know what you think, or care to guess what will happen next?! Till next time -Leafy<strong>


	9. Chapter 9: Interrogation Part 1

**A/N: Hey guys :D, quick Disclaimer, I own nothing of One Piece and it's characters, places and all things as such. Enjoy! **

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><p>The four Straw Hats on a mission had parked an navy blue Corolla down the street from the Donquixote property. It was quite a commonly seen car they had reasoned, one that no one would think of looking twice at or even question on this side of town. Stealth was the key to any stakeout operation after all.<p>

A low whistle came from the driver as he stared at the mansion. "Well, that's one hell of a SUPER building." Franky commented studying the immaculate structure from his place behind the wheel.

"Forget the fucking building! Usopp can you see anything, guards, security cameras, watch dogs, ground sensors?" Sanji asked from behind the blue haired teen, peeking from his spot in the back seat.

His movement accidentally nudging the green haired teen, who shoved him slightly in retaliation, though he said nothing as he too was more interested in this information than beating on the shitty cook.

The long nosed teen sitting in the passenger seat hummed in concentration as he adjusted his special headgear. A small blinking green light from the device signaling that he had turned on the night-vision feature. Slightly turning the rims of the spectacles Usopp turned his head slowly to the left and then to the right, taking in every possible feature of the mansion and it's layout.

"There are no guards as far as I can see, just a lady in a maid costume smoking out front, security cams are placed in every ideal spot behind the-" Usopp stopped himself gulping audibly not daring to say that the cameras were in fact very well hidden by the decorations of that holiday which should not be mentioned.

Clearing his throat he continued, "I don't see any possible routes the cameras wouldn't be able to see right now. I'll look into that further but with Robin's hacking skills we should be able to easily loop a video or turn them in another direction. Either choice would be fine, though the first would be ideal at a place like this." the sniper commented before adding. "No guard dogs, the flowers look too well taken care of for there to be any sort of animals around. And because of those flowers, I can't tell if there are motion sensors on the ground so we will have to assume that they are most likely hidden within the flowers." Usopp finished his report, returning to his task of studying the security cams.

Taking this information in Zoro cursed under his breath, getting past all those sensors would be a pain but nothing they haven't tangoed with before. However, the fact that they had no sort of guards troubled the swordsman, "This Flamingo prick can't be that cocky he must have _some _sort of defense." he growled looking over Usopp's head as he too studied the mansion's visible property.

The four pairs of eyes remained on the mansion for nearly an hour before movement caught the eye of the sniper, "Look! Someone just stepped out from the statue of that angel in the South-East corner."

"So the place even has secret passage ways." Sanji muttered as the figure closed the exit he had used and proceeded to stuff his hands into the pockets of his jeans, shoulders hunched against the cold as the furry hat on his head hid most of his features.

However, the small glimpse of his face that Usopp had managed to see was enough for him to release a choked scream before stammering out. "O-oi! It's the Surgeon! It's true he's back."

The news made both Zoro and Sanji to compete for the small space between the two front seats as they tried to get a better look at the receding figure that was the Surgeon.

"Move it Shitty Marimo!"

"Fuck off dartboard brow!"

The two growled at each other before the sound of the purring engine brought them back to attention. "...some of those trank's with you right Usopp bro?" they heard Franky finish.

To which Usopp nodded searching though his bag for the mentioned object, while thanking the other. "Y-yeah, good thinking Franky."

Zoro and Sanji might have come at the end of the statement, but years of being with the Crew had prepared them enough to know what would happen next. Slipping from the back of the car, the duo took to the streets, causally trailing after the Surgeon.

Normally the duo would have remained farther back within the crowd as to not alert their target, but he task was easily overlooked on this certain time of the year. For there were more than plenty of people completing their last minute shopping.

In less than 24 hours, the biggest holiday of the year was to commence. Christmas was just around the corner.

All of the Straw Hats knew this, but they had tried to ignore this very fact, they avoided the topic like the plague, for each time it was so much as mentioned they would be reminded of the loss of not only their Captain, but what Luffy had lost this month, his beloved brother Ace.

Luffy loved Christmas and anything that went with it, he specially loved that this was the single holiday his brother never missed; no matter where Ace had been or what he was up to, he had always found a way to celebrate the 25th with Luffy. But with the recent events the Straw Hats didn't know what to think about the holiday, it just felt _wrong_ to even imagine celebrating it without Luffy. So they all took a silent oath to postpone Christmas until they got Luffy back.

Hopefully after this interrogation, they would have their Captain back. This was the thought of the four Straw hats as they loaded the unconscious man into the Corolla and drove off.

The small car drove off unnoticed, headed to the warehouse district of Dressrosa.

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><p>"Torao!" Luffy's voice croaked out for the millionth time, and again he got no answer.<p>

Luffy didn't know how long he had been alone, but it had been about half an hour since he had woken from his nightmare. In that time Luffy had abandoned the bed and thoroughly searched every corner of the room for the surgeon, not being able to find a single trace of the other. His yellow and black hoodie was gone along with the fluffy hat Luffy liked to borrow so much.

Toaro was no where in the ransacked room, and he had no way of knowing if he was somewhere else in the house, Luffy had checked the door only to find it locked. But he hadn't been able to open the door without the keys, the door handle had no way to unlock it from the either side of the room unless he had the key.

Had Torao locked him in here? Had he left him alone? Did he not care about Luffy anymore?

Luffy didn't know. There was no note to where Torao had gone, if the other ever did leave before Luffy woke up he always left a note for Luffy letting him know he would be in a different part of the mansion, and then there was the door, it was never locked unless they were both in the room meant to keep the others _out_ but never meant to keep them _in_.

This didn't make any sense to the teen who was currently experiencing monophobia without his knowing. He was huddled in the farthest corner of the room, Bepo clutched tightly to his chest as it was the only link he currently had to Torao.

Short panting breaths left Luffy as his eyes darted throughout the room, his cries were becoming louder, and increasingly hoarse. "Torao!"

Where did Torao go, why did he leave? Where was he?!

* * *

><p>Outside the room Luffy and Law occupied, a tall blonde haired man tilted his head in amusement. "My my, Law. Look at what you have reduced Straw Hat Luffy to. A quivering mess scared of not only the dark but also of being alone." The Warlord observed by listening to the screams alone.<p>

Doflamingo was well aware of this phobia, he had to deal with it before, well more accurately, Rosinante had.

'Monophobia', Doflamingo thought to himself, 'the acute fear of being alone or without a certain person in their presence. The cause can of the trauma varied of course, though, for Straw Hat if what Law said was correct, then Fire Fist is the route of this fear. The event may have been erased from his present memory, but fear can never be forgotten. It just found a new way to manifest itself. And with Law acting as the comforter, it caused Jailbait to become dependent on him.'

"Fuffuffuffuffu. Law you better hurry before Jailbait breaks further." Doflamingo said to no one in particular as he continued along the corridors, vaguely wondering when Law would show up to ease the other's fears as he had been doing for the past two weeks.

_"TORAO!"_

This cry caused the flamboyant Warlord to stop in his tracks. "Oh~ a loud one you are. Fuffuffuffuffu." he chuckled and began to count down, estimating the arrival of a running Law.

"Three. Two. One! Here is Law!~" he happily sang before his face splitting grin dimmed. Why was Law not responding to the pining of his boy?

Doflamingo's eyes narrowed behind his fabulous shades while a frown took the place of his usually present smile. Something was amiss here, the thought flitted through the Warlords mind as he and stalked towards his study.

* * *

><p>On the other side of town, Law woke to a hard blow to his face. His teeth bit down harshly on his tongue upon the impact as his head was painfully snapped to the side with the force. A hiss of pain was forced out of Law before he spat out blood onto the concrete floor below him.<p>

'Fuck.' the curse formed in his sluggish brain while he began flexing his jaw to make sure it was still working properly. 'The fuck was that for.' he thought as his brain began to become more alert, quickly shaking the effects of the substance that had been forced into his system. Onyx dark hair had momentarily obscured steel gray eyes, though it was the dark setting that was making Law blink owlishly allowing his eyes adjust to the dimly lit setting.

"A fucking 'Good Morning' would have been sufficient." Law deadpanned straightening his head as he assessed himself and his current predicament.

From the small amount of light a lone lightbulb above the crown of his head provided, Law was able to feel more than see that his torso was bare, and upon further glancing he could also see his coat, hoodie, and hat thrown in a careless heap a few feet away from him. On each corresponding side he could see his hands held down firmly against the armrests of the cold metal chair, set next to his dark colored jeans no doubt speckled with his blood.

'Well at least I know I wasn't caught by rapists...' he thought distantly greatful that his jeans and boxers remained on his lower half. Then there were the binds, whoever did them was obviously skilled in knot-tying if the slight numbness of his hands was anything to go by, his feet too were strapped against the steel chair forbidding any movement from any of his appendages. And since the chair was still standing upright after that blow, then Law could only assume it was bolted to the floor.

An amused snort resounded before Law "Save the attitude for when you're not strapped to a chair." the figure said obviously not caring to conceal himself as Law came to look at the towering stature of a tanned skinned male he was not familiar with. Law was sure he would have recognized him if he had ever met him, the green hair would have been a dead giveaway.

"Those words wouldn't be leaving your mouth if I wasn't strapped to this chair." Law stated rolling his head in order to loosen the muscles in his tense neck.

"That was one hell of a drug. It took next to nothing for it to shut down my nervous system. And if this second stinging I feel along my right arm is anything to go by, then you used an antidote to combat the effects of the first dose. So there really was no need to kick me, was there?" Law surveyed his gunmetal gray eyes looking upwards to his captor.

Next to the green haired teen, a blonde exhaled a puff of smoke before smirking. "Who ever said that was a waking kick, I just needed to get it out of my system after all the shit you put us through. But trust me that was just the appetizer. The main course has yet to arrive."

Now it was Law's turn to snort. "Because nothing gets the threat across like menacing food references, right?"

"Asshole." the blonde growled as he pulled his leg back again to land another blow to his face. A resounding crack could be heard as pain exploded across the bridge Law's nose followed by the tell tale sign of rushing blood. It took no expert to realize that his nose was definitely broken.

Law refused to cry out as he blinked past the pain, appearing to be merely annoyed by the harsh treatment. After a few heart beats Law met the blue gaze of the swirled brow teen. "Do me a favor and tell the cook behind this 'main course' that it tastes like shit."

Beside the blonde the green haired smirked, "Oi shit cook, ya gonna let him talk to you like that."

"Fuck off Marimo. I just need to teach this prick some manners." The blonde snapped in clear irritation as he took another drag of his cigarette.

Law on the other hand remained calm, even as his captors approached his stationary knew what would happen next, he was no stranger to these types of scenes after all. Law's face revealed nothing to the two before him, no anger or pain seemed to register in his passive face, he withstood the oncoming blows of the blonde teen. Instead of focusing his energy in the pain that was being inflicted upon him, Law was trying to focus on more important matters analyzing the situation as he had been taught to do long ago.

This guy couldn't hold a candle to the pain Law had suffered in his youth, not when he had been thoroughly trained by Vergo under Doflamingo's orders. Law had been severely damaged back then, beaten to half an inch of his life every time he had a session with the man. Thrice it had seemed like he wouldn't make it past the night and each time, Law would rise again only to get beaten again.

This of course didn't mean that the kicks being delivered to him weren't felt in any way. They were, and the pain behind them was a bitch, but he ignored that as much as he could, taking into view his two captors. Who did they work for, he didn't know yet, but he did know that they didn't belong to any of the local clans or neighboring ones for none of them would dare to fuck with Doflamingo.

At this time Law could only assume that the two were from a different area. But there was also the nagging thought the blonde had said. _'all the shit you put us through.'_ What the fuck had Law done to them? It couldn't be a petty act of revenge over the Billions, that much he knew.

So then what was it?

A last blow dragged Law out of his thoughts as his head snapped back with an audible crack, his spine arching in an unnatural way placing strain on it but not breaking. Law knew he would be beyond fucking sore, fuck he was going to be an unrecognizable mess when he got out of this shithole. The questionable part, though, was if he would come out of it breathing.

The blonde lit another cigarette as he walked around the captured raven his blue eyes meeting his steel gray, a smirk curling his lip as he paused. "Good to see you're still conscious, Surgeon. Ready for round two?"

"That was round one?" Law scoffed before ridding his mouth of more blood before a humorless laugh left him as he met the emerald and blue gazes. "Pathetic..." he ground out taking a breath. "if the roles were switched you two would have been disposed of by now, I would have received my information and you two." he paused allowing a manic smile to grace his protesting features, "well lets just say your blood would be decorating the walls, and your organs would have been put to better use."

"Yeah, well we're not all sick fucks like you." the 'Marimo' retorted as he wrapped his left hand around the white decorated hilt of his Katana. "Though, if that's what it's going to take to get us somewhere, then let's get to slicing."

"You're welcome to try your worst... Marimo-ya." Law drawled out, having taken note that the green haired man didn't like that particular alias.

As he had suspected, anger blazed further in those emerald green eyes and the beast within him was released.

Slice after slice followed at Law's exposed skin, whereupon blood began to eagerly escape the confinement of his body painting his tanned frame in a startling crimson. White hot pain ignited everywhere the fine blade kissed his flesh causing him to grind his teeth against the mounting discomfort. However, even through this ordeal, Law could tell that every cut the other was making was shallow, artfully missing the major veins of his system.

They wanted to drag out his pain, to slowly break his resolve until he was begging to tell them everything they wanted to know. Little did they know, Law was trained to not utter a word even if it cost him his life; _The Family is everything, an individual is nothing _this mantra was ingrained into every fiber of his being, even if Law couldn't stand the pink fucker, he owed the man his life.

Law would say and do nothing to betray The Family.

It was at that very moment that Law became aware of one single fact. He would die at the hands of this green haired man.

Law could say that he felt anything emotionally as he took the blade's strikes without uttering a single sound. Not for the first time Law tuned into his inner mind, pondering the entirely possible situation of his untimely death.

Would he miss being amongst the living?

Law hadn't lived a life anyone would be jealous or proud of, so he sure as hell wouldn't miss that. Even if he continued to work as a surgeon, and one of the best mind you. Law knew that no matter how many people he managed to save on his table, it would never atone for everything he did during his time With The Family. And now that he had returned to them, the body count to his list will only increase.

No, as long as he was alongside Doflamingo, then he would always end up in these sort of situations; or worse, either as the receiver or the dealer.

Maybe it was better for the world for Law to die in the hands of this green haired man, to die in the same manner he had done to countless others. Law was ready to accept this fact as he lowered his head slightly.

'_But what would happen to Luffy-ya..?'_ the thought was but mere fleeting whisper amongst the stark silence that had claimed his mind at that single moment. That small whisper ignited something in Law.

It reminded Law why he had even agreed to join The Family again, of the reason for his recent smiles, the reason he was even able to tolerate being in that house again. It was because of the boy he had come to care for. The innocent teen who had lost his brother was back at that accursed house... without Law...

And Law was _not_ going to die here and leave Luffy in the hands of that fucking bastard.

That single train of thought was what snapped Law's head back up to meet the savage beast before him. His own glare roaring to life as he met the emerald gaze of the other, who faltered in his next slice upon noting the clearly displayed resolve Law held.

A ferocious smile barely discernible through the cuts and bruises decorating his face met his two captors as Law raised his chin. "Round two..." he ground out through gritted teeth, "failed."

The shock the green haired teen held didn't last long before he regained his composure, the grip on his Katana tightened as the Marimo gave a humorless laugh. "I seriously hate that we have to restrain you, the devil witch threatened to kill me financially if we untied you. But fuck, that conviction..." he sighed as the briefest look of wistfulness flashed across his hardened features.

Next to him the blonde finished his third? cigarette, grinding out the butt with the sole of his shoe. "Fucking swordsman control your raging hard-on would ya, we don't have time for you to get off on one of your freaky sword fantasies, my beloved Swan is on her way and we haven't made any progress."

This comment made the green haired man whirl on his partner the sword now pointing at the blonde instead his lips parted to retort before the door behind them flew open.

The light that flooded into the room caused Law to squint gunmetal gray eyes and turn away reflexively until he heard the door slam shut, and the darkness once again claimed the room allowing him to see again.

"What are you two idiots doing, I thought I told you two to behave?!" A voice scolded before two very audible smacks followed.

After that Law could see the distinct look of annoyance in the green haired man as he muttered under his breath about evil devil witches while rubbing at the back of his head. The blonde, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy the pain inflicted on him, merely choosing to fawn over the orange haired 'Swan' that stepped into the room.

Ignoring the blonde the orange haired girl stood several feet before Law, hazel colored eyes taking in his wounded form before a she crossed her arms under her voluminous breasts.

"So you're the infamous Surgeon of Death huh, you really don't look like much." she commented as she slowly rounded him, Law's gaze had followed her as much as he could, though she was soon out of his line of vision. The acute sound of her clicking heels, however, told him she was directly behind him now.

"But I will say this, you have a great resistance to pain. I was just outside that wall over there listening for these two to soften you up. And normally I would allow them to continue until you gave in; but not today. You see." she drawled on resuming her circling now standing before Law, leaning in close enough that Law could smell the sweet perfume she wore. "You have some important information we want, and we cant wait any more."

Law didn't miss the darkening of her hazel eyes, the sudden loathing behind them, but too soon it vanished leaving behind the same cold calculating look she had worn since stepping into the room. All too suddenly she pulled back, not bothering to look over her shoulder she called out, though Law noticed the slight hesitation. "Aniki" the word was apparently not welcome on her tongue "bring the machine in!"

A heart beat later Law repeated the process of shielding his gaze to the assaulting brightness that lay beyond their current room. Once the door had once again slammed closed he saw that a machine was wheeled into the room. Attached to it was a monitor, a dial device of some sort and Law counted five wires.

A boisterous laughter accompanied the man as he set the machine to Law's right. "Cheer up Big Sis, we'll have him talking in no time." the man who Law saw was quite large and muscular began to turn switches, press buttons and essentially get the machine up and running.

"Just hurry up and don't make me use that ridiculous name again." the orange haired girl snapped impatiently helping the large blue haired man in attaching the wires to Law's skin. The shockingly cold gel placed onto each of the small cups caused Law to flinch away from the coldness attached to his temples, chest, and one on his right index.

The small movement didn't go unnoticed by his four captors as they all gained a smug look.

"Ready when you are Big Sis," the deep voice of this 'Aniki' rumbled.

Before him the orange haired girl took a much more comfortable looking seat then Law's own which had been provided by the 'Shit Cook'. Twirling a remote in her hand the girl fixed him with an intense glare.

"Now Trafalgar Law." she began, "Any idea of why we're all here?"

If she was hoping Law would react to the use of his name, he did not give her the satisfaction, the fact that she knew who he was only confirmed his suspicions that this was no random act. The abduction had been planned, but the question remained...

What the fuck did Law do to them?

* * *

><p><strong>Well I'm severely late for both Christmas and New Years, I had hoped to get this chapter out way before the Holidays or at least during them, but wasn't able to. I'm sorry for the wait, and the belated update.<strong>

**Let me know what you think! Thank you to all of you who have taken the time to read, favorite, follow, and review. You guys are awesome! See you next time!**


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